Curious and Interesting Names Near Fort Saint James ...
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.
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 Fort Saint James to various places of note, such as Parliament Hill.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Fort Saint James and extending to:
Victoria, which is the Provincial Capital of British Columbia, lies 416 miles [669.5 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Fort Saint James to Victoria, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 24 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 17 days.
The National Capital at Parliament Hill (Ottawa, ON) is 2,197 miles [3,535.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 86 days and walking would take 125 days.
The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,351 miles [10,220.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<4>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,106 miles [11,436 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,303 miles [8,534.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>'
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- Fort Saint James) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>
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.
<3>
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 Fort Saint James 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 Fort Saint James. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 54.4333, Longitude: -124.2500
<4>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 342.657 degrees.
<5>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 344.809 degrees.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.383 degrees.