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 Lake (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver Lake came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<1>
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 Rich Lake to various places of note, such as Parliament Hill.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Rich Lake and extending to:
Edmonton, which is the Provincial Capital of Alberta, lies 101 miles [162.5 km]<2> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Rich Lake to Edmonton, with an average speed<3>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 National Capital at Parliament Hill (Ottawa, ON) is 1,691 miles [2,721.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 66 days and walking would take 96 days.
The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,153 miles [9,902.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,920 miles [11,136.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,002 miles [8,049.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
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>
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Rich Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rich Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 54.5005, Longitude: -111.6108
<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 Rich Lake 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 332.292 degrees.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 333.111 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 319.707 degrees.