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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Melissa, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Melissa 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 Melissa:
    • 38.379883, -82.334551
    • 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 Melissa
  • 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 Cabell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cabell County
    • Since Melissa is near Lawrence County and also Wayne County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lawrence County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wayne 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 Melissa

Communities Also Named Melissa ...

We found two communities that are also named Melissa.

Within West Virginia, the name Melissa is unique.

Beyond West Virginia, we know of two communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Ontario
      • This Melissa lies 510 miles [820.8 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Melissa that is located in Cabell County.
    • Texas
      • Collin County
      • This Melissa is located in Collin County and lies 868 miles [1,396.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Melissa that is located in Cabell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Collin County community of Melissa.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Melissa ...

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 Sulphur
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Blue Sulphur is located in Cabell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Sulphur
  • Chancellor Hills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Chancellor Hills is located in Cabell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chancellor Hills
  • Fair Place
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Fair Place is located in Lawrence County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Place
  • Garden Farms
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Garden Farms is located in Cabell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Farms
  • Hillview
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hillview is located in Cabell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillview
  • Home Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Home Park is located in Lawrence County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Park
  • Indian Meadows
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Indian Meadows is located in Cabell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Meadows
  • Inez
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Inez is located in Cabell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inez
  • Lock
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Lock is located in Lawrence County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lock
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Martha
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Martha is located in Cabell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martha
    • Park Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Park Hills is located in Cabell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Hills
    • Pea Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Pea Ridge is located in Cabell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pea Ridge
    • Riverview
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Riverview is located in Lawrence County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
    • Sarah
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Timberlake
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Timberlake is located in Cabell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake

How Far From Melissa to ...

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

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

  • Huntington, which is the Seat of Cabell County, lies just to the West Northwest.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 38 miles [61.2 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could walk a straight line from Melissa to Charleston, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two 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 287 miles [461.9 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,141 miles [9,883 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,856 miles [11,033.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,732 miles [7,615.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Melissa) 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 Melissa 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 Melissa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.3799, Longitude: -82.3346    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.089 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.006 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.158 degrees.