Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ryan, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ryan and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ryan
- 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 Ryan:
- 38.642592, -81.472900
- 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 Ryan
- 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 Roane County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Roane County
- Since Ryan is near Jackson County and also Kanawha County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson County
- 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Ryan ...
We found 23 communities that share the name Ryan.
Within West Virginia, the name Ryan is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another 23 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 23 communities, 21 are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- British Columbia
- This Ryan lies 1,846 miles [2,970.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Ryan that is located in Roane County.
- California
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Doniphan County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Ryan [Doniphan County].
- Ford County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Ryan [Ford County].
- Rush County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Ryan [Rush County].
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Ontario
- Texas
- McLennan County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Ryan [McLennan County].
- Presidio County
- This Ryan is located in Presidio County and lies 1,411 miles [2,270.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Ryan that is located in Roane County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Presidio County community of Ryan.
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ryan ...
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.
- Advent
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Countsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Countsville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countsville
- Countsville is located in Roane County
- Flatfork
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Harmony
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Island Branch
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Branch
- Island Branch is located in Kanawha County
- Jingo ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - July ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Kettle
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Mattie ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Mount Hope
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Mount Hope is located in Roane County
- Mount Welcome
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Welcome have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Welcome
- Mount Welcome is located in Roane County
- Shad ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Vicars
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Woodyard ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
How Far From Ryan 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 Ryan to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ryan and extending to:
- Spencer, which is the Seat of Roane County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Ryan to Spencer, 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 22 miles [35.4 km] to the south southwest (SSW). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just over a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 239 miles [384.6 km] to the east (E). 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 14 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,094 miles [9,807.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,808 miles [10,956.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,684 miles [7,538.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ryan. 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- Ryan) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ryan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.6426, Longitude: -81.4729 In this case, the coordinates for Ryan have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Ryan, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Ryan 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. |
| <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 Ryan 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 310.558 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.439 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.70 degrees. |