Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Laing, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Laing and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Laing
- 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 Laing:
- 38.036496, -81.428166
- 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 Laing
- Bird Watching ...
- We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
- The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Kanawha County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Kanawha County
- Since Laing is near Fayette County and also Raleigh County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Fayette County
- eBird sighting report for Raleigh County
- 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
Communities Also Named Laing ...
We found three communities that share the name Laing.
Within West Virginia, the name Laing is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Kansas
- Michigan
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Laing ...
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.
- Acme
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Acme is located in Kanawha County
- Carbon
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Carbon is located in Kanawha County
- Dorothy
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorothy
- Dorothy is located in Raleigh County
- Elk Run Junction
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elk Run Junction. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Junction
- Elk Run Junction is located in Boone County
- Elkridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Greencastle
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greencastle have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greencastle
- Greencastle is located in Kanawha County
- Holly
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Janie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janie
- Janie is located in Boone County
- Former name for Janie:
- Mordue
- Mount Hope
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Mount Hope is located in Boone County
- Red Warrior
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Warrior have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Warrior
- Red Warrior is located in Kanawha County
- Republic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast) - United
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
How Far From Laing to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Laing to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Laing and extending to:
- Charleston, which is the Seat of Kanawha County, lies 24 miles [38.6 km]<2> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Laing to Charleston, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 24 miles [38.6 km] to the north northwest (NNW). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 244 miles [392.7 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,119 miles [9,847.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,831 miles [10,993.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,707 miles [7,575.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Laing. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Kanawha County: www.kanawha.us/
The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Laing could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Laing) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Laing. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.0365, Longitude: -81.4282 In this case, the coordinates for Laing have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Laing to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.544 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.332 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.876 degrees. |