RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maine >> Penobscot County >> Shin Pond >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Shin Pond, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shin Pond 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 Shin Pond:
    • 46.105914, -68.558667
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Shin Pond
  • 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 Penobscot County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Penobscot County
    • Since Shin Pond is near Aroostook County and also Piscataquis County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Aroostook County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Piscataquis 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Shin Pond

Curious and Interesting Names Near Shin Pond ...

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.

  • Crystal
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Crystal is located in Aroostook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
  • Dyer Brook
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Halls Corner
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Halls Corner is located in Aroostook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Corner
  • Hersey
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Island Falls
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Merrill
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Merrill is located in Aroostook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrill
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people
  • Moosehorn Crossing
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Moosehorn Crossing is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moosehorn Crossing
  • New City
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • New City is located in Piscataquis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New City
  • Stacyville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)

How Far From Shin Pond 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 Shin Pond to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Shin Pond and extending to:

  • Bangor, which is the Seat of Penobscot County, lies 90 miles [144.8 km]<2> to the south. If you could drive a straight line from Shin Pond to Bangor, 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 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • Augusta, which is the State Capital of Maine, lies 137 miles [220.5 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 658 miles [1,058.9 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,259 miles [8,463.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 5,978 miles [9,620.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 3,853 miles [6,200.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>'

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>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- Shin Pond) 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 Shin Pond 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 Shin Pond. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.1059, Longitude: -68.5587    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 301.765 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 297.752 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 297.289 degrees.