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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 Silica, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Silica 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 Silica:
- 38.687328, -80.240078
- 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 Silica
- 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:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Randolph County
- Since Silica is near Upshur County and also Webster County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Upshur County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Webster 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 Silica
Communities Also Named Silica ...
We found eleven communities that are also named Silica.
Within West Virginia, the name Silica is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of eleven communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these eleven communities, ten are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- British Columbia
- This Silica lies 1,979 miles [3,184.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Silica that is located in Randolph County.
- Kansas
- Phillips 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 Kansas community of Silica [Phillips County].
- Rice County
- This Silica is located in Rice County and lies 983 miles [1,582 km]<1> to the west of the Silica that is located in Randolph County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rice County community of Silica.
- Kentucky
- Carter County
- This Silica is located in Carter County and lies 164 miles [263.9 km]<1> to the west of the Silica that is located in Randolph County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carter County community of Silica.
- Minnesota
- Saint Louis County
- This Silica is located in Saint Louis County and lies 874 miles [1,406.6 km]<1> to the northwest of the Silica that is located in Randolph County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Louis County community of Silica.
- Missouri
- Jefferson County
- This Silica is located in Jefferson County and lies 551 miles [886.7 km]<1> to the west of the Silica that is located in Randolph County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Silica.
- Ohio
- Lucas County
- This Silica is located in Lucas County and lies 277 miles [445.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Silica that is located in Randolph County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lucas County community of Silica.
- South Carolina
- Lexington 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 South Carolina community of Silica [Lexington County].
- Tennessee
- Campbell County
- This Silica is located in Campbell County and lies 273 miles [439.4 km]<1> to the southwest of the Silica that is located in Randolph County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Campbell County community of Silica.
- Virginia
- Scott County
- This Silica is located in Scott County and lies 179 miles [288.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Silica that is located in Randolph County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scott County community of Silica.
- Wisconsin
- Fond du Lac County
- This Silica is located in Fond du Lac County and lies 550 miles [885.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Silica that is located in Randolph County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fond du Lac County community of Silica.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Silica ...
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.
- Blue Rock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Blue Rock is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Rock
- Chemical ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Chemical is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chemical
- Czar
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Czar is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Czar
- Eden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Eden is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Florence ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Florence is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Hacker Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Hemlock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hemlock is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock
- Holly Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Holly Grove is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Grove
- Palace Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Palace Valley is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palace Valley
- Pickens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Zion
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Zion is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion
How Far From Silica 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 Silica to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Silica and extending to:
- Elkins, which is the Seat of Randolph County, lies 26 miles [41.8 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Silica to Elkins, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 78 miles [125.5 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 173 miles [278.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,041 miles [9,722 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,753 miles [10,867.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,628 miles [7,448 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Silica) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 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 Silica 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Silica 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 Silica. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.6873, Longitude: -80.2401 In this case, the coordinates for Silica have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.81 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.592 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.152 degrees. |
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