Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Read, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Read and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Read
- 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 Read:
- 38.953162, -79.842846
- 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 Read
- 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 Randolph County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Randolph County
- Since Read is near Barbour County and also Tucker County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Barbour County
- eBird sighting report for Tucker 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 Read ...
We found four communities that share the name Read.
Within West Virginia, the name Read is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these four communities, three are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Colorado
- Iowa
- Ontario
- This Read lies 394 miles [634.1 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Read that is located in Randolph County.
- Utah
Curious and Interesting Names Near Read ...
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.
- Aggregates
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aggregates have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aggregates
- Aggregates is located in Randolph County
- Beverly
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
- Beverly is located in Randolph County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 657 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beverly <4>
- Crystal Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
- Crystal Springs is located in Randolph County
- Gage
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Harpertown
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harpertown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harpertown
- Harpertown is located in Randolph County
- Jeff Scotts ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jeff Scotts have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff Scotts
- Jeff Scotts is located in Randolph County
- Junior
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Leadsville
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadsville
- Leadsville is located in Randolph County
- Lumber ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Meadows
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Roaring Creek Junction
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roaring Creek Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaring Creek Junction
- Roaring Creek Junction is located in Randolph County
- Skidmore ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Stringtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stringtown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Stringtown is located in Barbour County
- Weaver
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Weaver is located in Randolph County
How Far From Read 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 Read to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Read and extending to:
- Elkins, which is the Seat of Randolph County, lies just to the South.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 104 miles [167.4 km]<1> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could drive a straight line from Read to Charleston, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 4 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 150 miles [241.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,013 miles [9,677 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,725 miles [10,822.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,600 miles [7,403 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Read. 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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Read) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Read. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9532, Longitude: -79.8428 In this case, the coordinates for Read 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 Read 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Read 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 309.56 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.348 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.889 degrees. |