Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Marathon, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Marathon and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Marathon
- 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 Marathon:
- 24.711801, -81.092650
- 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.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Marathon
- 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 Monroe County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Monroe 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Marathon ...
We found eight communities that share the name Marathon.
Within Florida, the name Marathon is unique.
Beyond Florida, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Saint John the Baptist Parish
- This Marathon is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish and lies 689 miles [1,108.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Marathon that is located in Monroe County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint John the Baptist Parish community of Marathon.
- Mississippi
- New York
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Marathon lies 1,682 miles [2,706.9 km]<1> to the north of the Marathon that is located in Monroe County.
- Texas
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Marathon ...
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.
- Big Pine
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west) - Big Pine Key
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Pine Key
- Big Pine Key is located in Monroe County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Big Pine Key <4>
- Duck Key
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Key
- Duck Key is located in Monroe County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duck Key <4>
- Little Torch Key
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Torch Key
- Little Torch Key is located in Monroe County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Little Torch Key <4>
- Long Key
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Key
- Long Key is located in Monroe County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Long Key <4>
- Marathon Shores
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marathon Shores
- Marathon Shores is located in Monroe County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marathon Shores <4>
- Pigeon Key
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon Key
- Pigeon Key is located in Monroe County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pigeon Key <4>
- Ramrod Key
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramrod Key
- Ramrod Key is located in Monroe County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ramrod Key <4>
How Far From Marathon to ...
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 city such as Marathon to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Marathon and extending to:
- Key West, which is the Seat of Monroe County, lies 45 miles [72.4 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Marathon to Key West, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
- Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 440 miles [708.1 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 18 days and walking would take 25 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,007 miles [1,620.6 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 40 days and walking would take 58 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,699 miles [10,781 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,344 miles [11,819 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,266 miles [8,474.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Marathon: www.ci.marathon.fl.us/
The official website for Monroe County: www.co.monroe.fl.us/
The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Marathon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Marathon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 24.7118, Longitude: -81.0927 |
| <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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Marathon 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> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Marathon 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 309.854 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.657 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.118 degrees. |