Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Petroleum, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Petroleum and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Petroleum
- 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 Petroleum:
- 39.190795, -81.268599
- 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 Petroleum
- 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 Ritchie County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Ritchie County
- Since Petroleum is near Wood County and also Wirt County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Wood County
- eBird sighting report for Wirt 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 Petroleum ...
We found four communities that share the name Petroleum.
Within West Virginia, the name Petroleum is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Ohio
Curious and Interesting Names Near Petroleum ...
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.
- Cairo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Cairo is located in Ritchie County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cairo <3>
- Deerwalk
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Freeport
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
- Freeport is located in Wirt County
- Greencastle
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greencastle
- Greencastle is located in Wirt County
- Low Gap
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Nutter Farm
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nutter Farm have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutter Farm
- Nutter Farm is located in Ritchie County
- Oil Spring
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oil Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil Spring
- Oil Spring is located in Ritchie County
- Oxbow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Pew Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Racy
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Sandhill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Six Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
How Far From Petroleum 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 Petroleum to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Petroleum and extending to:
- Harrisville, which is the Seat of Ritchie County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Petroleum to Harrisville, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 61 miles [98.2 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 227 miles [365.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,061 miles [9,754.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,777 miles [10,906.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,652 miles [7,486.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Petroleum. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Petroleum, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | 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- Petroleum) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Petroleum. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1908, Longitude: -81.2686 In this case, the coordinates for Petroleum have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Petroleum 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 310.419 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.361 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.429 degrees. |