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:
- 38.370887, -90.333451
- 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 Monroe County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Monroe County
- Since Merrimac is near Jefferson County and also Saint Louis County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
- eBird sighting report for Saint Louis 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 Illinois, the name Merrimac is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another twelve communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Florida
- 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 662 miles [1,065.4 km]<1> to the east of the Merrimac that is located in Monroe 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 546 miles [878.7 km] to the east of the Merrimac that is located in Monroe 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.
- Arnold
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arnold have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Arnold is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,145 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arnold <5>
- Bushburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Cliff Cave
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cliff Cave have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliff Cave
- Cliff Cave is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Fountain
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Fountain Gap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fountain Gap have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Gap
- Fountain Gap is located in Monroe County
- Imperial
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Imperial have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imperial
- Imperial is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Imperial <5>
- Maxville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Point ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Spring Forest
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Forest
- Spring Forest is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Sulphur Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulphur Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Sulphur Springs is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Sunnyside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Merrimac to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs 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:
- Waterloo, which is the Seat of Monroe County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Merrimac to Waterloo, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 104 miles [167.4 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 4 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 717 miles [1,153.9 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 41 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,455 miles [10,388.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,189 miles [11,569.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,069 miles [8,157.8 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 State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
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: 38.3709, Longitude: -90.3335 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 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 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 316.151 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.809 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.771 degrees. |