Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Brooks, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Brooks and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Brooks
- 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 Brooks:
- 43.565844, -83.916110
- 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 Brooks
- 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 Bay County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Bay County
- Since Brooks is near Saginaw County and also Tuscola County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Saginaw County
- eBird sighting report for Tuscola 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 Brooks ...
We found 30 communities that share the name Brooks.
There are two communities within Michigan that are also named Brooks.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another 28 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 28 communities, 29 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Located In Michigan ...
- Menominee County
- Newaygo County
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Alberta
- This Brooks lies 1,392 miles [2,240.2 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Brooks that is located in Bay County.
- Arkansas
- Grant County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Brooks [Grant County].
- Saline County
- This Brooks is located in Saline County and lies 770 miles [1,239.2 km]<2> to the southwest of the Brooks that is located in Bay County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saline County community of Brooks.
- California
- Georgia
- Fayette County
- This Brooks is located in Fayette County and lies 710 miles [1,142.6 km]<2> to the south of the Brooks that is located in Bay County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Brooks.
- Wilkinson County
- This Brooks is located in Wilkinson County and lies 736 miles [1,184.5 km] to the south of the Brooks that is located in Bay County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wilkinson County community of Brooks.
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Polk County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Minnesota community of Brooks [Polk County].
- Red Lake County
- This Brooks is located in Red Lake County and lies 651 miles [1,047.7 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Brooks that is located in Bay County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Red Lake County community of Brooks.
- Mississippi
- Montana
- North Carolina
- Buncombe County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Brooks [Buncombe County].
- Lenoir County
- This Brooks is located in Lenoir County and lies 665 miles [1,070.2 km]<2> to the south southeast of the Brooks that is located in Bay County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lenoir County community of Brooks.
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Texas
- Jefferson County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Brooks [Jefferson County].
- Panola County
- Although located in Panola County, we don't know the location within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Panola County community of Brooks.
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Brooks ...
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.
- Crow Island ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crow Island have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow Island
- Crow Island is located in Saginaw County
- Fisherville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisherville
- Fisherville is located in Bay County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Fisherville
- From Brooks to Fisherville
- Frankenlust
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankenlust
- Frankenlust is located in Bay County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Frankenlust
- From Brooks to Frankenlust
- Indiantown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indiantown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indiantown
- Indiantown is located in Saginaw County
- Lawndale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Little Killarney Beach
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Killarney Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Killarney Beach
- Little Killarney Beach is located in Bay County
- Melbourne ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melbourne. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbourne
- Melbourne is located in Saginaw County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Melbourne
- From Brooks to Melbourne
- Salzburg ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Salzburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salzburg
- Salzburg is located in Bay County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Salzburg
- From Brooks to Salzburg
- Three Churches Corner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Three Churches Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Churches Corner
- Three Churches Corner is located in Bay County
How Far From Brooks 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 Brooks to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Brooks once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Brooks and extending to:
- Bay City, which is the Seat of Bay County, lies just to the North Northeast.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 65 miles [104.6 km]<2> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could walk a straight line from Brooks to Lansing, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 480 miles [772.5 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 19 days and walking would take 28 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,965 miles [9,599.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,702 miles [10,785.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,584 miles [7,377.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Bay County: www.co.bay.mi.us/
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Brooks 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. |
| <2> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Brooks) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Brooks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.5658, Longitude: -83.9161 |
| <3> | 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 Brooks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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> | 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. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Brooks to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.936 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.738 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.173 degrees. |