Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in McMellin, we use the following websites to find information relevant to McMellin and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for McMellin
- 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 McMellin:
- 39.705357, -79.811443
- 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 McMellin
- 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 Monongalia County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Monongalia County
- Since McMellin is near Fayette County and also Preston County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Fayette County
- eBird sighting report for Preston 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near McMellin ...
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.
- Canyon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County
- Cheat Lake
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheat Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County
- Cheat Neck
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheat Neck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Neck
- Cheat Neck is located in Monongalia County
- Cornish
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Crystal
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Florence ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Greystone
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Ices Ferry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ices Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ices Ferry
- Ices Ferry is located in Monongalia County
- Locust Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locust Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Locust Hill is located in Fayette County (PA)
- Outcrop
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Ruble Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruble Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruble Mill
- Ruble Mill is located in Fayette County (PA)
- Stewartstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stewartstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartstown
- Stewartstown is located in Monongalia County
- Sunset Beach
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Beach
- Sunset Beach is located in Monongalia County
- Walnut Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
- Walnut Hill is located in Greene County (PA)
How Far From McMellin 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 McMellin to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<2> community of McMellin once stood, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in McMellin and extending to:
- Morgantown, which is the Seat of Monongalia County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from McMellin to Morgantown, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 135 miles [217.3 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 158 miles [254.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,978 miles [9,620.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,693 miles [10,771.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,569 miles [7,353.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Monongalia County: www.co.monongalia.wv.us/
The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/
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> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about McMellin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- McMellin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in McMellin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7054, Longitude: -79.8114 In this case, the coordinates for McMellin 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 McMellin 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 309.509 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.403 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.608 degrees. |