RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Florida >> Marion County >> Irvine >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Irvine, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Irvine and the surrounding area.

  • Astronomy & Satellites ...
    • 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 Irvine:
    • 29.406022, -82.250939
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Irvine
  • Bird Watching ...
    • We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
    • The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Marion County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Marion County
    • Since Irvine is near Alachua County and also Levy County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Alachua County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Levy County
  • Waymarking ...
    • Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Irvine

Communities Also Named Irvine ...

We found eight communities that are also named Irvine.

Within Florida, the name Irvine is unique.

Beyond Florida, we know of eight communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, five are located in the United States and three are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alberta
      • This Irvine lies 2,034 miles [3,273.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the Irvine that is located in Marion County.
    • British Columbia
      • This Irvine lies 2,450 miles [3,942.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Irvine that is located in Marion County.
    • California
      • Orange County
      • This Irvine is located in Orange County and lies 2,101 miles [3,381.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Irvine that is located in Marion County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orange County community of Irvine.
    • Kentucky
      • Estill County
      • This Irvine is located in Estill County and lies 581 miles [935 km]<1> to the north of the Irvine that is located in Marion County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Estill County community of Irvine.
    • Newfoundland and Labrador
      • This Irvine lies 2,001 miles [3,220.3 km]<1> to the northeast of the Irvine that is located in Marion County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Warren County
      • This Irvine is located in Warren County and lies 874 miles [1,406.6 km]<1> to the north of the Irvine that is located in Marion County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Irvine.
    • Wisconsin
      • Chippewa County
      • This Irvine is located in Chippewa County and lies 1,182 miles [1,902.2 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Irvine that is located in Marion County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chippewa County community of Irvine.
    • Wyoming
      • Converse County
      • This Irvine is located in Converse County and lies 1,571 miles [2,528.3 km]<1> to the northwest of the Irvine that is located in Marion County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Converse County community of Irvine.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Irvine ...

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.

How Far From Irvine to ...

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 Irvine to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Irvine and extending to:

  • Ocala, which is the Seat of Marion County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Irvine to Ocala, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
  • Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 140 miles [225.3 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 719 miles [1,157.1 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 41 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,544 miles [10,531.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,219 miles [11,617.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,113 miles [8,228.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Irvine) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Irvine 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 Irvine. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.4060, Longitude: -82.2509    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.82 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.417 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.514 degrees.