RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Elba, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Elba 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 Elba:
    • 43.036416, -83.439948
    • 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 Elba
  • 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 Elba ...

We found 21 communities that share the name Elba.

Within Michigan, the name Elba is unique.

Beyond Michigan, we know of another 21 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 21 communities, twenty are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Coffee County
      • This Elba is located in Coffee County and lies 815 miles [1,311.6 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Elba that is located in Lapeer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Coffee County community of Elba.
    • Arkansas
      • Van Buren County
      • This Elba is located in Van Buren County and lies 693 miles [1,115.3 km]<1> to the southwest of the Elba that is located in Lapeer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Van Buren County community of Elba.
    • California
      • Tulare County
      • This Elba is located in Tulare County and lies 1,948 miles [3,135 km]<1> to the west of the Elba that is located in Lapeer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tulare County community of Elba.
    • Colorado
      • Washington County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Elba [Washington County].
    • Idaho
      • Cassia County
      • This Elba is located in Cassia County and lies 1,522 miles [2,449.4 km]<1> to the west of the Elba that is located in Lapeer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cassia County community of Elba.
    • Illinois
      • Gallatin County
      • This Elba is located in Gallatin County and lies 441 miles [709.7 km]<1> to the southwest of the Elba that is located in Lapeer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gallatin County community of Elba.
    • Kansas
      • Anderson County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Elba [Anderson County].
      • Chase County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Elba [Chase County].
    • Kentucky
      • McLean County
      • This Elba is located in McLean County and lies 425 miles [684 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Elba that is located in Lapeer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McLean County community of Elba.
    • Louisiana
      • Saint Landry Parish
      • This Elba is located in Saint Landry Parish and lies 963 miles [1,549.8 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Elba that is located in Lapeer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Landry Parish community of Elba.
    • Minnesota
      • Winona County
      • This Elba is located in Winona County and lies 435 miles [700.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Elba that is located in Lapeer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Winona County community of Elba.
    • Nebraska
      • Howard County
      • This Elba is located in Howard County and lies 782 miles [1,258.5 km]<1> to the west of the Elba that is located in Lapeer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Howard County community of Elba.
    • New York
      • Genesee County
      • This Elba is located in Genesee County and lies 264 miles [424.9 km]<1> to the east of the Elba that is located in Lapeer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Genesee County community of Elba.
    • Ohio
      • Washington County
      • This Elba is located in Washington County and lies 258 miles [415.2 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Elba that is located in Lapeer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Elba.
    • Oklahoma
      • Lincoln County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Oklahoma community of Elba [Lincoln County].
      • Rogers County
      • This Elba is located in Rogers County and lies 793 miles [1,276.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Elba that is located in Lapeer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rogers County community of Elba.
    • Ontario
      • This Elba lies 179 miles [288.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Elba that is located in Lapeer County.
    • Tennessee
      • Fayette County
      • This Elba is located in Fayette County and lies 638 miles [1,026.8 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Elba that is located in Lapeer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Elba.
    • Utah
      • Grand County
      • This Elba is located in Grand County and lies 1,381 miles [2,222.5 km]<1> to the west of the Elba that is located in Lapeer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grand County community of Elba.
    • Virginia
      • Henrico County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Elba [Henrico County].
      • Pittsylvania County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Elba [Pittsylvania County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Elba ...

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.

  • Atlas
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atlas have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
    • Atlas is located in Genesee County
  • Farmers Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmers Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers Creek
    • Farmers Creek is located in Lapeer County
  • Five Lakes
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Lakes
    • Five Lakes is located in Lapeer County
  • Flint
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
    • Flint is located in Genesee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 94,968 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flint <5>
  • Hunters Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Creek
    • Hunters Creek is located in Lapeer County
  • Otter Lake
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otter Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Lake
    • Otter Lake is located in Lapeer County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Otter Lake <5>
  • Rogersville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rogersville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
    • Rogersville is located in Genesee County
  • Thornville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thornville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornville
    • Thornville is located in Lapeer County

How Far From Elba 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 community such as Elba to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Lapeer, which is the Seat of Lapeer County, lies just to the East.
  • Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 60 miles [96.6 km]<1> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could walk a straight line from Elba 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 439 miles [706.5 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 18 days and walking would take 25 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,972 miles [9,611 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,706 miles [10,792.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,586 miles [7,380.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Elba. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Elba) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Elba. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.0364, Longitude: -83.4399       In this case, the coordinates for Elba have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<2>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 Elba, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Elba 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.
<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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Elba 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 311.648 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.333 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.122 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024