RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative
Quarter for
Indiana

The Commemorative Quarter for Indiana





Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Santa Claus, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Santa Claus and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Santa Claus:
    • 38.120302, -86.913214
    • 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 Santa Claus
  • 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 Santa Claus ...

We found two communities that share the name Santa Claus.

Within Indiana, the name Santa Claus is unique.

Beyond Indiana, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Mohave County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arizona community of Santa Claus [Mohave County].
    • Georgia
      • Toombs County
      • This Santa Claus is located in Toombs County and lies 485 miles [780.5 km]<2> to the south southeast of the Santa Claus that is located in Spencer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Toombs County community of Santa Claus.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Santa Claus ...

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 City
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clay City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay City
    • Clay City is located in Spencer County
  • Dale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Johnsburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsburg
    • Johnsburg is located in Dubois County
  • Kennedy
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kennedy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennedy
    • Kennedy is located in Spencer County
  • Liberal
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberal have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberal
    • Liberal is located in Spencer County
  • Lincoln City
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln City
    • Lincoln City is located in Spencer County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lincoln City <4>
  • Mariah Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Pigeon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pigeon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
    • Pigeon is located in Spencer County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Pigeon
    • From Santa Claus to Pigeon
  • Rockport Junction
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)

How Far From Santa Claus 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 town such as Santa Claus to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Santa Claus and extending to:

  • Rockport, which is the Seat of Spencer County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<2> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Santa Claus to Rockport, 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.
  • Indianapolis, which is the State Capital of Indiana, lies 120 miles [193.1 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 536 miles [862.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 21 days and walking would take 31 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,336 miles [10,196.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,062 miles [11,365.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,938 miles [7,946.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

The official website for Santa Claus: www.townofsantaclaus.com/

The official website for State of Indiana: https://www.in.gov

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Santa Claus, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Santa Claus) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Santa Claus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.1203, Longitude: -86.9132    
<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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Santa Claus 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 313.938 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.23 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.259 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025