Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Olcott, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Olcott and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Olcott
- 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 Olcott:
- 38.234543, -81.724290
- 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 Olcott
- 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 Olcott is near Boone County and also Lincoln County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Boone County
- eBird sighting report for Lincoln 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 Olcott ...
We found eight communities that share the name Olcott.
Within West Virginia, the name Olcott is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- New York
- Ontario
- This Olcott lies 874 miles [1,406.6 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Olcott that is located in Kanawha County.
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Vermont
Curious and Interesting Names Near Olcott ...
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.
- Bloomingrose
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingrose
- Bloomingrose is located in Boone County
- Eden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Eden is located in Boone County
- Forks of Coal
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forks of Coal have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Coal
- Forks of Coal is located in Kanawha County
- Horse Creek Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Horse Creek Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Creek Junction
- Horse Creek Junction is located in Boone County
- Irene
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Ivydale
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Johns
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johns
- Johns is located in Boone County
- Julian
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julian
- Julian is located in Boone County
- Maxine
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Ridgeview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeview
- Ridgeview is located in Boone County
- Rock Lake Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Lake Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Lake Village
- Rock Lake Village is located in Kanawha County
- Rumble
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rumble
- Rumble is located in Boone County
- South Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Park
- South Park is located in Kanawha County
How Far From Olcott 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 Olcott to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Olcott and extending to:
- Charleston, which is the Seat of Kanawha County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Olcott to Charleston, 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 9 miles [14.5 km] to the north northeast (NNE). The buggy would take a little over three hours and walking would take four to five hours.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 257 miles [413.6 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 10 days and walking would take 15 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 6,836 miles [11,001.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,711 miles [7,581.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Olcott. 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> | 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- Olcott) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Olcott. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.2345, Longitude: -81.7243 In this case, the coordinates for Olcott have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Olcott 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. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Olcott 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 310.719 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.562 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.94 degrees. |