RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Province of Manitoba >> Aikenside >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Curious and Interesting Names Near Aikenside ...

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.

How Far From Aikenside 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 Aikenside to various places of note, such as Parliament Hill.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<1> community of Aikenside once stood, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Aikenside and extending to:

  • Winnipeg, which is the Provincial Capital of Manitoba, lies 120 miles [193.1 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Aikenside to Winnipeg, with an average speed<3>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 National Capital at Parliament Hill (Ottawa, ON) is 1,158 miles [1,863.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 46 days and walking would take 66 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,148 miles [9,894.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,915 miles [11,128.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,882 miles [7,856.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 Aikenside, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Aikenside) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Aikenside to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Aikenside. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 50.0049, Longitude: -99.8206    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 323.087 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 322.241 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.138 degrees.