Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sod, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sod and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sod
- 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 Sod:
- 38.244077, -81.876067
- 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 Sod
- 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 Lincoln County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lincoln County
- Since Sod is near Kanawha County and also Boone County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Kanawha County
- eBird sighting report for Boone 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sod ...
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.
- East ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Fork Junction
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fork Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fork Junction
- Fork Junction is located in Lincoln County
- Forks of Coal
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forks of Coal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Coal
- Forks of Coal is located in Kanawha County
- Horse Creek Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Horse Creek Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Creek Junction
- Horse Creek Junction is located in Boone County
- Irene
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Julian
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julian
- Julian is located in Boone County
- Layville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - River Bend
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bend
- River Bend is located in Kanawha County
- Sun Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sun Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Valley
- Sun Valley is located in Kanawha County
- Tornado
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
How Far From Sod 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 Sod to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Sod and extending to:
- Hamlin, which is the Seat of Lincoln County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Sod to Hamlin, with an average speed<3> 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 15 miles [24.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). The buggy would take four to five hours and walking would take most of a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 265 miles [426.5 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 15 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,128 miles [9,862.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,842 miles [11,011.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,718 miles [7,592.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sod. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Lincoln County: www.co.lincoln.wv.us/
The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sod) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sod. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.2441, Longitude: -81.8761 |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Sod to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.811 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.669 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.002 degrees. |