Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Girard, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Girard and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Girard
- 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 Girard:
- 42.029285, -85.000996
- 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 Girard
- 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 Branch County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Branch County
- Since Girard is near Calhoun County and also Hillsdale County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Calhoun County
- eBird sighting report for Hillsdale 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 Girard ...
We found sixteen communities that share the name Girard.
Within Michigan, the name Girard is unique.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another sixteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- California
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Crawford County
- This Girard is located in Crawford County and lies 607 miles [976.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Girard that is located in Branch County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Crawford County community of Girard.
- Meade 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 Girard [Meade County].
- Louisiana
- Minnesota
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Erie County
- This Girard is located in Erie County and lies 239 miles [384.6 km]<1> to the east of the Girard that is located in Branch County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of Girard.
- York 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 Pennsylvania community of Girard [York County].
- Texas
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Girard ...
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.
- Allen
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allen have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
- Allen is located in Hillsdale County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allen <5>
- Butler
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Coldwater
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Coldwater is located in Branch County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,090 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coldwater <5>
- Crystal Beach
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Beach
- Crystal Beach is located in Branch County
- Fisher
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Fisher is located in Branch County
- Hatmaker
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest) - Homer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Homer is located in Calhoun County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,643 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer <5>
- Pearl Beach
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pearl Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl Beach
- Pearl Beach is located in Branch County
- Stanley Corners
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanley Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley Corners
- Stanley Corners is located in Calhoun County
- Stringtown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stringtown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Stringtown is located in Branch County
- Trailtree Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trailtree Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailtree Village
- Trailtree Village is located in Branch County
- Union City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
- Union City is located in Branch County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,564 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Union City <5>
How Far From Girard 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 Girard to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Girard and extending to:
- Coldwater, which is the Seat of Branch County, lies just to the South.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 53 miles [85.3 km]<1> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could walk a straight line from Girard 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 over two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 470 miles [756.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). 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 27 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,077 miles [9,780 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,811 miles [10,961.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,691 miles [7,549.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Girard. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Branch County: www.co.branch.mi.us/
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Girard) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Girard. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.0293, Longitude: -85.0010 |
| <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 Girard, 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 Girard 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 Girard 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 312.703 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.38 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.228 degrees. |