Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Balsam, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Balsam and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Balsam
- 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 Balsam:
- 46.207726, -88.380970
- 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 Balsam
- 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 Iron County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Iron County
- Since Balsam is near Dickinson County and also Marquette County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Dickinson County
- eBird sighting report for Marquette 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 Balsam ...
We found four communities that share the name Balsam.
Within Michigan, the name Balsam is unique.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these four communities, three are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Minnesota
- North Carolina
- Ontario
- This Balsam lies 479 miles [770.9 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Balsam that is located in Iron County.
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Balsam ...
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.
- Alpha
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
- Alpha is located in Iron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alpha <2>
- Clinch ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Crystal Falls
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Falls
- Crystal Falls is located in Iron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,364 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crystal Falls <2>
- Fortune Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fortune Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fortune Lake
- Fortune Lake is located in Iron County
- Hiawatha Location
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hiawatha Location have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiawatha Location
- Hiawatha Location is located in Iron County
- Homer Location
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Homer Location have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer Location
- Homer Location is located in Iron County
- Iron River
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iron River have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron River
- Iron River is located in Iron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,827 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iron River <2>
- Mastodon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south) - Mineral Hills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Hills
- Mineral Hills is located in Iron County
- Rogers Location
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rogers Location have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers Location
- Rogers Location is located in Iron County
- Western Location
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Western Location have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western Location
- Western Location is located in Iron County
How Far From Balsam 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 Balsam to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Balsam and extending to:
- Crystal Falls, which is the Seat of Iron County, lies just to the South Southeast.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 305 miles [490.8 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Balsam to Lansing, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 18 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 12 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 765 miles [1,231.1 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 44 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,998 miles [9,652.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,749 miles [10,861.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,649 miles [7,481.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Balsam. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Iron County: www.iron.org/
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Balsam) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Balsam. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.2077, Longitude: -88.3810 In this case, the coordinates for Balsam have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Balsam 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 314.848 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.419 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.611 degrees. |