RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of West Virginia >> Raleigh County >> Harper Heights >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Harper Heights, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Harper Heights and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • Astronomy & Satellites ...
    • Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
    • To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Harper Heights:
    • 37.803169, -81.244825
    • Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
    • The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Harper Heights
  • Waymarking ...
    • Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
    • Waymark.com

Curious and Interesting Names Near Harper Heights ...

As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.

  • Cedar
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
    • Cedar is located in Raleigh County
  • Crab Orchard
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crab Orchard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Orchard
    • Crab Orchard is located in Raleigh County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crab Orchard <2>
  • Cranberry
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cranberry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry
    • Cranberry is located in Raleigh County
  • Dry Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dry Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Hill
    • Dry Hill is located in Raleigh County
  • Glen Daniel
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen Daniel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Daniel
    • Glen Daniel is located in Raleigh County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glen Daniel <2>
  • Glen View
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen View
    • Glen View is located in Raleigh County
  • Glen White
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen White
    • Glen White is located in Raleigh County
  • Glen White Junction ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen White Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen White Junction
    • Glen White Junction is located in Raleigh County
  • Harper
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Hoohoo
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoohoo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoohoo
    • Hoohoo is located in Raleigh County
  • Johnstown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
    • Johnstown is located in Raleigh County
  • Lester
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lester have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
    • Lester is located in Raleigh County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 312 people
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Maple Fork
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Fork
      • Maple Fork is located in Raleigh County
    • Prosperity
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosperity
      • Prosperity is located in Raleigh County
    • Spangler Factory ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spangler Factory have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spangler Factory
      • Spangler Factory is located in Raleigh County
    • Surveyor
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Surveyor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surveyor
      • Surveyor is located in Raleigh County
    • Trap Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trap Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trap Hill
      • Trap Hill is located in Raleigh County

How Far From Harper Heights to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Harper Heights to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Harper Heights and extending to:

  • Beckley, which is the Seat of Raleigh County, lies just to the East Southeast.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 42 miles [67.6 km]<3> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could walk a straight line from Harper Heights to Charleston, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 240 miles [386.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,122 miles [9,852.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,833 miles [10,996.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,708 miles [7,576.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Harper Heights) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Harper Heights. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8032, Longitude: -81.2448       In this case, the coordinates for Harper Heights have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day.
<5>The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Harper Heights to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.437 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.177 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.873 degrees.