RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Michigan >> Ionia County >> Belding >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Belding, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Belding and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Belding:
    • 43.095998, -85.228696
    • 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 Belding
  • 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 Ionia County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Ionia County
    • Since Belding is near Montcalm County and also Kent County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montcalm County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Kent 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 Belding

Communities Also Named Belding ...

We found two communities that are also named Belding.

Within Michigan, the name Belding is unique.

Beyond Michigan, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Oregon
      • Tillamook County
      • This Belding is located in Tillamook County and lies 1,878 miles [3,022.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Belding that is located in Ionia County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tillamook County community of Belding.
    • Texas
      • Pecos County
      • This Belding is located in Pecos County and lies 1,293 miles [2,080.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Belding that is located in Ionia County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pecos County community of Belding.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Belding ...

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 Belding 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 city such as Belding to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Belding and extending to:

  • Ionia, which is the Seat of Ionia County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Belding to Ionia, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 42 miles [67.6 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 515 miles [828.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 21 days and walking would take 30 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,036 miles [9,714 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,773 miles [10,900.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,656 miles [7,493.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Belding) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Belding 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 Belding. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.0960, Longitude: -85.2287    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.821 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.671 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.992 degrees.