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 May:
33.895016, -117.490881
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.
We found nineteen communities that share the name May.
There is one other community in California which is also named May.
Beyond California, we know of another eighteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
Communities Located In California ...
Amador County
This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of May [Amador County].
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Arkansas
Garland County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of May [Garland County].
Stone County
This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of May [Stone County].
Georgia
Colquitt County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of May [Colquitt County].
Idaho
Lemhi County
This May is located in Lemhi County and lies 763 miles [1,227.9 km]<3> to the north northeast of the May that is located in Riverside County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lemhi County community of May.
Kansas
Atchison County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of May [Atchison County].
Kentucky
Boyd County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kentucky community of May [Boyd County].
Knott County
This May is located in Knott County and lies 1,947 miles [3,133.4 km]<3> to the east northeast of the May that is located in Riverside County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knott County community of May.
Michigan
Allegan County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of May [Allegan County].
Minnesota
Martin County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Minnesota community of May [Martin County].
Missouri
Laclede County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Missouri community of May [Laclede County].
McDonald County
This May is located in McDonald County and lies 1,305 miles [2,100.2 km]<3> to the east northeast of the May that is located in Riverside County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the McDonald County community of May.
North Carolina
Harnett County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of May [Harnett County].
Oklahoma
Harper County
This May is located in Harper County and lies 1,016 miles [1,635.1 km]<3> to the east northeast of the May that is located in Riverside County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harper County community of May.
Pennsylvania
Lancaster County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of May [Lancaster County].
South Carolina
Dillon County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the South Carolina community of May [Dillon County].
Texas
Brown County
This May is located in Brown County and lies 1,082 miles [1,741.3 km]<3> to the east of the May that is located in Riverside County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brown County community of May.
West Virginia
Doddridge County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the West Virginia community of May [Doddridge County].
Pocahontas County
This May is located in Pocahontas County and lies 2,108 miles [3,392.5 km]<3> to the east northeast of the May that is located in Riverside County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pocahontas County community of May.
Curious and Interesting Names Near May ...
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.
Belltown (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belltown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
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 May to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in May and extending to:
Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 392 miles [630.9 km]<3> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from May to Sacramento, with an average speed<5>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 23 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 16 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,256 miles [3,630.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 89 days and walking would take 129 days.
The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,559 miles [12,165 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,328 miles [13,402.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,310 miles [10,155 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
Footnotes ...
<1>
We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about May, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>
If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer.
Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.
Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.
Also keep in mind that May could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out.
<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- May) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in May. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.8950, Longitude: -117.4909 In this case, the coordinates for May have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>
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.
<5>
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.
<6>
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 May to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 335.594 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 335.346 degrees.
<9>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.195 degrees.