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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Loda:
    • 38.801217, -80.082020
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Loda
  • 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 Randolph County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Randolph County
    • Since Loda is near Upshur County and also Barbour County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Upshur County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Barbour 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Loda

Communities Also Named Loda ...

We found one communities that are also named Loda.

Within West Virginia, the name Loda is unique.

Beyond West Virginia, there is another community also named Loda in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Illinois
      • Iroquois County
      • This Loda is located in Iroquois County and lies 440 miles [708.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Loda that is located in Randolph County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Iroquois County community of Loda.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Loda ...

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.

  • Blue Rock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Blue Rock is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Rock
  • Chemical ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Chemical is located in Upshur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chemical
  • Czar
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Czar is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Czar
  • Fisher ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fisher is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
  • Gale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Gale is located in Upshur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gale
  • Hemlock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Hemlock is located in Upshur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock
  • Huff ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Huff is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huff
  • Imperial
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Imperial is located in Upshur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imperial
  • Lonetree ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Lonetree is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lonetree
  • Mabie
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Mabie is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabie
  • Palace Valley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Palace Valley is located in Upshur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palace Valley
  • Pumpkintown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Pumpkintown is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pumpkintown
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Queens
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Queens is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queens
    • Sand Run
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Sand Run is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Run
    • Sellers ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Sellers is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
    • Tenmile
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Tenmile is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile

How Far From Loda 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 Loda to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Loda and extending to:

  • Elkins, which is the Seat of Randolph County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Loda to Elkins, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 89 miles [143.2 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 163 miles [262.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,029 miles [9,702.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,741 miles [10,848.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,617 miles [7,430.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Loda) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Loda to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Loda. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.8012, Longitude: -80.0820       In this case, the coordinates for Loda have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.71 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.496 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.045 degrees.