Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ensign, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ensign and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ensign
- 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 Ensign:
- 45.897467, -86.869030
- 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 Ensign
- 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 Delta County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Delta County
- Since Ensign is near Menominee County and also Schoolcraft County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Menominee County
- eBird sighting report for Schoolcraft 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 Ensign ...
We found five communities that share the name Ensign.
Within Michigan, the name Ensign is unique.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, four are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alberta
- This Ensign lies 1,255 miles [2,019.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Ensign that is located in Delta County.
- Arkansas
- California
- Kansas
- Texas
- Alberta
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ensign ...
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.
- Beaver
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest) - Devils Corner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devils Corner
- Devils Corner is located in Delta County
- Flat Rock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west) - Garden Corners
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Corners
- Garden Corners is located in Delta County
- Kipling
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipling
- Kipling is located in Delta County
- Lake Bluff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Bluff
- Lake Bluff is located in Delta County
- Maplewood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Maywood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Rapid River
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapid River
- Rapid River is located in Delta County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rapid River <6>
How Far From Ensign 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 Ensign to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ensign and extending to:
- Escanaba, which is the Seat of Delta County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ensign to Escanaba, with an average speed<7> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 246 miles [395.9 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 695 miles [1,118.5 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<8> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,962 miles [9,594.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,709 miles [10,797.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,605 miles [7,411 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<11>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ensign. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Delta County: www.deltacountymi.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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ensign) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ensign. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.8975, Longitude: -86.8690 In this case, the coordinates for Ensign have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 Ensign 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. |
| <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 Ensign, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | 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. |
| <8> | 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 Ensign to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.816 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.209 degrees. |
| <11> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.896 degrees. |