Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ralph, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ralph and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ralph
- 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 Ralph:
- 38.477331, -80.368691
- 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 Ralph
- 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 Webster County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Webster County
- Since Ralph is near Randolph County and also Pocahontas County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Randolph County
- eBird sighting report for Pocahontas 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 Ralph ...
We found fourteen communities that share the name Ralph.
Within West Virginia, the name Ralph is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another fourteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these fourteen communities, thirteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Izard County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Ralph [Izard County].
- Marion County
- This Ralph is located in Marion County and lies 693 miles [1,115.3 km]<1> to the west of the Ralph that is located in Webster County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Ralph.
- California
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Michigan
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Saskatchewan
- This Ralph lies 1,379 miles [2,219.3 km]<1> to the northwest of the Ralph that is located in Webster County.
- South Dakota
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ralph ...
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.
- Bergoo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Cherry Falls
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Falls
- Cherry Falls is located in Webster County
- Curtin
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Diana
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Dyer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Halo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Jerryville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jerryville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerryville
- Jerryville is located in Webster County
- Jumbo
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Skidmore Crossing
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skidmore Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skidmore Crossing
- Skidmore Crossing is located in Webster County
How Far From Ralph 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 Ralph to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ralph and extending to:
- Webster Springs, which is the Seat of Webster County, lies just to the West.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 68 miles [109.4 km]<1> to the west (W). If you could walk a straight line from Ralph to Charleston, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 181 miles [291.3 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,055 miles [9,744.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,767 miles [10,890.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,642 miles [7,470.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ralph. 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> | 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- Ralph) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ralph. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.4773, Longitude: -80.3687 In this case, the coordinates for Ralph 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 Ralph 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> | 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 Ralph, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Ralph 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 309.894 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.657 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.278 degrees. |