RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Indiana >> Vigo County >> Saint Mary-of-the-Woods >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
    • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
    • The National Weather Service forecast for Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
  • 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 Saint Mary-of-the-Woods:
    • 39.510869, -87.467243
    • 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 Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
  • 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

Curious and Interesting Names Near Saint Mary-of-the-Woods ...

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.

  • Dewey
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dewey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewey
    • Dewey is located in Vigo County
  • Easytown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Easytown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easytown
    • Easytown is located in Vermillion County
  • Libertyville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
    • Libertyville is located in Vigo County
  • Marion Heights
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marion Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion Heights
    • Marion Heights is located in Vigo County
  • Marley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marley
    • Marley is located in Edgar County (IL)
  • Needmore
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Needmore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
    • Needmore is located in Vermillion County
  • Otter Creek Junction
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otter Creek Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek Junction
    • Otter Creek Junction is located in Vigo County
  • Pine Ridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
    • Pine Ridge is located in Vigo County
  • Sandcut
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandcut
    • Sandcut is located in Vigo County
  • Syndicate
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Syndicate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syndicate
    • Syndicate is located in Vermillion County
  • Toad Hop
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toad Hop
    • Toad Hop is located in Vigo County
  • Twelve Points
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twelve Points have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twelve Points
    • Twelve Points is located in Vigo County
  • Universal
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Universal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Universal
    • Universal is located in Vermillion County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 339 people

How Far From Saint Mary-of-the-Woods 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 Saint Mary-of-the-Woods to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and extending to:

  • Terre Haute, which is the Seat of Vigo County, lies just to the Southeast.
  • Indianapolis, which is the State Capital of Indiana, lies 71 miles [114.3 km]<2> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods to Indianapolis, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 4 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 559 miles [899.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 22 days and walking would take 32 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,290 miles [10,122.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,022 miles [11,300.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,900 miles [7,885.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Saint Mary-of-the-Woods) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.5109, Longitude: -87.4672       In this case, the coordinates for Saint Mary-of-the-Woods have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Saint Mary-of-the-Woods to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.318 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.861 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.148 degrees.