Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Merrimac, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Merrimac and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Merrimac
- 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 Merrimac:
- 28.725273, -81.562295
- 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 Merrimac
- 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 Orange County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Orange County
- Since Merrimac is near Lake County and also Seminole County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lake County
- eBird sighting report for Seminole 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 Merrimac ...
We found twelve communities that share the name Merrimac.
Within Florida, the name Merrimac is unique.
Beyond Florida, we know of another twelve communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Massachusetts
- Nevada
- Carson City
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nevada community of Merrimac [Carson City].
- Ormsby County
- This community is historic<2> and although located in Ormsby County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ormsby County community of Merrimac.
- Virginia
- Culpeper County
- This Merrimac is located in Culpeper County and lies 700 miles [1,126.5 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Merrimac that is located in Orange County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Culpeper County community of Merrimac.
- Montgomery County
- This Merrimac is located in Montgomery County and lies 588 miles [946.3 km] to the north of the Merrimac that is located in Orange County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Merrimac.
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Merrimac ...
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.
- Clay Island
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clay Island have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Island
- Clay Island is located in Lake County
- Crown Point
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crown Point have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown Point
- Crown Point is located in Orange County
- Dublin
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Ethel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Forest City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
- Forest City is located in Seminole County
- Fullers
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Lake Apopka
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Apopka have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Apopka
- Lake Apopka is located in Orange County
- Lake Jem
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Jem
- Lake Jem is located in Lake County
- Oak Tree Park
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Tree Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Tree Park
- Oak Tree Park is located in Orange County
- Paradise Heights
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Heights
- Paradise Heights is located in Orange County
- Plymouth
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
- Plymouth is located in Orange County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plymouth <5>
- Tangerine
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tangerine
- Tangerine is located in Orange County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tangerine <5>
How Far From Merrimac 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 community such as Merrimac to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Merrimac and extending to:
- Orlando, which is the Seat of Orange County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Merrimac to Orlando, with an average speed<6> 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 201 miles [323.5 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 748 miles [1,203.8 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 43 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,543 miles [10,529.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,212 miles [11,606.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,111 miles [8,225.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Merrimac. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Orange County: www.orangecountyfl.net/
The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/
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- Merrimac) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Merrimac. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.7253, Longitude: -81.5623 In this case, the coordinates for Merrimac have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Merrimac, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Merrimac 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. |
| <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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Merrimac to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.41 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.849 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.44 degrees. |