RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Curious and Interesting Names Near Birdtail ...

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 Birdtail 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 Birdtail to various places of note, such as Parliament Hill.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<2> community of Birdtail once stood, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Birdtail and extending to:

  • Winnipeg, which is the Provincial Capital of Manitoba, lies 173 miles [278.4 km]<3> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Birdtail to Winnipeg, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The National Capital at Parliament Hill (Ottawa, ON) is 1,208 miles [1,944.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 48 days and walking would take 69 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,131 miles [9,866.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,899 miles [11,102.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,878 miles [7,850.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Birdtail, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 from Point A (ie- Birdtail) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Birdtail 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 Birdtail. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 50.7714, Longitude: -100.8111    
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 323.832 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 323.175 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.554 degrees.