Curious and Interesting Names Near Cold Lake South ...
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.
Beaver Crossing (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver Crossing came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<1>
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 Cold Lake South to various places of note, such as Parliament Hill.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Cold Lake South and extending to:
Edmonton, which is the Provincial Capital of Alberta, lies 146 miles [235 km]<3> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could drive a straight line from Cold Lake South to Edmonton, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
The National Capital at Parliament Hill (Ottawa, ON) is 1,634 miles [2,629.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 64 days and walking would take 93 days.
The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,131 miles [9,866.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,899 miles [11,102.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,970 miles [7,998.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Footnotes ...
<1>
If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<2>
While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>
Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Cold Lake South) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cold Lake South. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 54.4155, Longitude: -110.2093
<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 Cold Lake South 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 331.166 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 331.835 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 318.783 degrees.