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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shinnston, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shinnston 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 Shinnston:
- 39.394554, -80.303062
- 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 Shinnston
- 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 Harrison County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Harrison County
- Since Shinnston is near Marion County and also Taylor County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Marion County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Taylor 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 Shinnston
Curious and Interesting Names Near Shinnston ...
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.
- Allied
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Allied is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allied
- Dixie
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dixie is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Enterprise
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Erie
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Erie is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
- Francis
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Francis is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francis
- Gypsy
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Gypsy is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gypsy
- Highland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Highland is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- Killarm
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Killarm is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killarm
- Long Run
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Long Run is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Run
- Lumberport
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Meadowbrook
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Oak Grove is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Saltwell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
How Far From Shinnston 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 city such as Shinnston to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Shinnston and extending to:
- Clarksburg, which is the Seat of Harrison County, lies just to the South Southwest.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 101 miles [162.5 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Shinnston to Charleston, with an average speed<2>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 three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 178 miles [286.5 km] to the east (E). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,012 miles [9,675.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,727 miles [10,826.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,602 miles [7,406.2 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Shinnston) 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 Shinnston 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 Shinnston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3946, Longitude: -80.3031 |
| <4> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.822 degrees. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.712 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.935 degrees. |
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