Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Swiss, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Swiss and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Swiss
- 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 Swiss:
- 38.233162, -81.127884
- 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 Swiss
- 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 Nicholas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Nicholas County
- Since Swiss is near Fayette County and also Clay County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Fayette County
- eBird sighting report for Clay 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 Swiss ...
We found two communities that share the name Swiss.
Within West Virginia, the name Swiss is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Missouri
- North Carolina
Curious and Interesting Names Near Swiss ...
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.
- Chimney Corner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chimney Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chimney Corner
- Chimney Corner is located in Fayette County
- Dixie
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Dixie is located in Nicholas County
- Glen Ferris
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen Ferris have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Ferris
- Glen Ferris is located in Fayette County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glen Ferris <3>
- Hopewell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Independence
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Independence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Independence is located in Clay County
- Jodie
(Less than 2 miles to the west) - Lucas
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Lyonsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyonsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyonsville
- Lyonsville is located in Nicholas County
- Marvel
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Peters Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peters Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters Junction
- Peters Junction is located in Nicholas County
- Woods Ferry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woods Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Ferry
- Woods Ferry is located in Fayette County
How Far From Swiss 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 community such as Swiss to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Swiss and extending to:
- Summersville, which is the Seat of Nicholas County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Swiss to Summersville, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 28 miles [45.1 km] to the west northwest (WNW). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 225 miles [362.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,098 miles [9,813.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,810 miles [10,959.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,686 miles [7,541.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Swiss. 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Swiss) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Swiss. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.2332, Longitude: -81.1279 In this case, the coordinates for Swiss have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <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 Swiss to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.358 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.15 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.684 degrees. |