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, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Oyama to various places of note, such as Parliament Hill.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Oyama and extending to:
Victoria, which is the Provincial Capital of British Columbia, lies 213 miles [342.8 km]<2> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could drive a straight line from Oyama to Victoria, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 13 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 9 days.
The National Capital at Parliament Hill (Ottawa, ON) is 2,022 miles [3,254.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 4 days, a buggy would take 79 days and walking would take 115 days.
The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,564 miles [10,563.7 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 7,328 miles [11,793.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,441 miles [8,756.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
<1>
While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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- Oyama) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Oyama 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 Oyama. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 50.1105, Longitude: -119.3703
<5>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 338.531 degrees.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 339.868 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.57 degrees.