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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Pettus, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Pettus 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 Pettus:
    • 37.956496, -81.537611
    • 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 Pettus
  • 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 Raleigh County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Raleigh County
    • Since Pettus is near Boone County and also Kanawha County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Boone County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Kanawha 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 Pettus

Communities Also Named Pettus ...

We found two communities that are also named Pettus.

Within West Virginia, the name Pettus is unique.

Beyond West Virginia, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Lonoke County
      • This Pettus is located in Lonoke County and lies 619 miles [996.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Pettus that is located in Raleigh County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lonoke County community of Pettus.
    • Texas
      • Bee County
      • This Pettus is located in Bee County and lies 1,136 miles [1,828.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Pettus that is located in Raleigh County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bee County community of Pettus.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Pettus ...

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.

  • Acme
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Acme is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
  • Bald Knob
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bald Knob is located in Boone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Knob
  • Dorothy
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Dorothy is located in Raleigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorothy
  • Dry Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Dry Creek is located in Raleigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Creek
  • Elk Run Junction
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Elk Run Junction is located in Boone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Junction
  • Janie
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Janie is located in Boone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janie
    • Former name for Janie:
    • Mordue
  • Keith
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Keith is located in Boone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keith
  • Leevale
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Leevale is located in Raleigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leevale
  • Milltown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Milltown is located in Boone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
  • Packsville
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Packsville is located in Raleigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packsville
  • Sundial
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Sundial is located in Raleigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sundial
  • Twilight
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Twilight is located in Boone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
  • United
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • United is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for United

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

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

  • Beckley, which is the Seat of Raleigh County, lies 22 miles [35.4 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Pettus to Beckley, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 27 miles [43.5 km] to the north (N). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 251 miles [403.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 15 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,127 miles [9,860.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,839 miles [11,006.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,715 miles [7,588.1 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Pettus) 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 Pettus 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 Pettus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9565, Longitude: -81.5376       In this case, the coordinates for Pettus have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.611 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.398 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.949 degrees.