Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Merriam, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Merriam and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Merriam
- 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 Merriam:
- 41.287206, -85.434177
- 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 Merriam
- 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 Noble County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Noble County
- Since Merriam is near Whitley County and also Allen County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Whitley County
- eBird sighting report for Allen 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 Merriam ...
We found six communities that share the name Merriam.
Within Indiana, the name Merriam is unique.
Beyond Indiana, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Minnesota
- Ohio
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Eastland County
- Although located in Eastland County, we don't know the location within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Eastland County community of Merriam.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Merriam ...
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.
- Allen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast) - Bakertown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Buttermilk Point
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buttermilk Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buttermilk Point
- Buttermilk Point is located in Kosciusko County
- Eagle Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point
- Eagle Point is located in Kosciusko County
- Five Points
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Points have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Five Points is located in Whitley County
- Green Center
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Center have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Center
- Green Center is located in Noble County
- Highbanks
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west) - Indian Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Indian Village is located in Noble County
- Lakeview Spring
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeview Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Spring
- Lakeview Spring is located in Kosciusko County
- Lisbon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast) - Swan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east) - Walnut Corners
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Corners
- Walnut Corners is located in Whitley County
- Wolf Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
- Wolf Lake is located in Noble County
- Yellowbanks
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yellowbanks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellowbanks
- Yellowbanks is located in Kosciusko County
How Far From Merriam 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 Merriam to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Merriam and extending to:
- Albion, which is the Seat of Noble County, lies just to the North.
- Indianapolis, which is the State Capital of Indiana, lies 111 miles [178.6 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Merriam to Indianapolis, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 473 miles [761.2 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 19 days and walking would take 27 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,128 miles [9,862.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,861 miles [11,041.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,740 miles [7,628.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Merriam. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Noble County: www.nobleco.org/
The official website for State of Indiana: https://www.in.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Merriam) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Merriam. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.2872, Longitude: -85.4342 |
| <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 Merriam 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 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. |
| <5> | 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 Merriam to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.00 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.61 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.672 degrees. |