Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Polk Gap, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Polk Gap and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Polk Gap
- 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 Polk Gap:
- 37.676780, -81.422604
- 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 Polk Gap
- 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 Wyoming County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Wyoming County
- Since Polk Gap is near Raleigh County and also Boone County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Raleigh County
- eBird sighting report for Boone 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 Polk Gap ...
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.
- Amigo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Blackeagle
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackeagle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackeagle
- Blackeagle is located in Wyoming County
- Bolt
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Glen Fork
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Helen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen
- Helen is located in Raleigh County
- Hoohoo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Itmann
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Jenny Gap ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Joe Branch
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Joe Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joe Branch
- Joe Branch is located in Wyoming County
- Keyrock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyrock
- Keyrock is located in Wyoming County
- Lester
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Maple Meadow
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Meadow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Meadow
- Maple Meadow is located in Raleigh County
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Newfound
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Ravencliff
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ravencliff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravencliff
- Ravencliff is located in Wyoming County
- Redbird
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Rock View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Slab Fork
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab Fork
- Slab Fork is located in Raleigh County
- Stonecoal Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stonecoal Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonecoal Junction
- Stonecoal Junction is located in Raleigh County
- Newfound
How Far From Polk Gap 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 Polk Gap to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Polk Gap and extending to:
- Pineville, which is the Seat of Wyoming County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Polk Gap to Pineville, with an average speed<3> 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 47 miles [75.6 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 252 miles [405.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 15 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,135 miles [9,873.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,846 miles [11,017.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,721 miles [7,597.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Polk Gap. 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> | 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Polk Gap) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Polk Gap. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.6768, Longitude: -81.4226 In this case, the coordinates for Polk Gap have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Polk Gap to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.546 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.282 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.989 degrees. |