Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Calais, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Calais and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Calais
- 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 Calais:
- 45.134114, -67.223841
- 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 Calais
- 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Washington 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 Calais ...
We found five communities that share the name Calais.
Within Maine, the name Calais is unique.
Beyond Maine, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, four are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alberta
- This Calais lies 2,274 miles [3,659.6 km]<1> to the northwest of the Calais that is located in Washington County.
- Montana
- Dawson County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Montana community of Calais [Dawson County].
- Roosevelt County
- This Calais is located in Roosevelt County and lies 1,776 miles [2,858.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Calais that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roosevelt County community of Calais.
- Ohio
- Vermont
- Alberta
Curious and Interesting Names Near Calais ...
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.
- Burnt Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burnt Hill came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Hill
- Charlotte
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Edwards Corner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edwards Corner came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards Corner
- Five Corners
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Corners
- Four Corners
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
- Heathland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Maxwell Crossing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell Crossing
- Milltown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Oak Bay
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Bay
- Red Beach
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Beach
- Red Beach is located in Washington County
- Union Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Mills came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Mills
- Valley Road
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Road came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Road
How Far From Calais 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 city such as Calais to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Calais and extending to:
- Machias, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 31 miles [49.9 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Calais to Machias, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Augusta, which is the State Capital of Maine, lies 137 miles [220.5 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 661 miles [1,063.8 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,239 miles [8,431.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 5,951 miles [9,577.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 3,827 miles [6,159 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Calais. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Maine: https://www.maine.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Calais) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Calais. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.1341, Longitude: -67.2238 In this case, the coordinates for Calais have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Calais 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> | If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Calais to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 301.139 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 296.879 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 297.218 degrees. |