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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative
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The Commemorative Quarter for Michigan





Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Grand Rapids:
    • 42.963285, -85.667879
    • 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 Grand Rapids
  • 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 Grand Rapids ...

We found nine communities that share the name Grand Rapids.

There is one other community in Michigan which is also named Grand Rapids.

Beyond Michigan, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Michigan ...
    • Ontonagon County
      • This Grand Rapids is located in Ontonagon County and lies 316 miles [508.6 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Grand Rapids that is located in Kent County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ontonagon County community of Grand Rapids.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • British Columbia
      • This Grand Rapids lies 1,926 miles [3,099.6 km]<1> to the northwest of the Grand Rapids that is located in Kent County.
    • Manitoba
      • This Grand Rapids lies 940 miles [1,512.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Grand Rapids that is located in Kent County.
    • Minnesota
      • Itasca County
      • This Grand Rapids is located in Itasca County and lies 482 miles [775.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Grand Rapids that is located in Kent County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Itasca County community of Grand Rapids.
    • Nebraska
      • Holt County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Holt County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Holt County community of Grand Rapids.
    • North Dakota
      • LaMoure County
      • This Grand Rapids is located in LaMoure County and lies 667 miles [1,073.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Grand Rapids that is located in Kent County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the LaMoure County community of Grand Rapids.
    • Ohio
      • Lake County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Lake County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lake County community of Grand Rapids.
      • Wood County
      • This Grand Rapids is located in Wood County and lies 141 miles [226.9 km]<1> to the southeast of the Grand Rapids that is located in Kent County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wood County community of Grand Rapids.
    • Oregon
      • Clatsop County
      • This Grand Rapids is located in Clatsop County and lies 1,858 miles [2,990.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Grand Rapids that is located in Kent County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clatsop County community of Grand Rapids.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Grand Rapids ...

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.

  • Alpine
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alpine have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
    • Alpine is located in Kent County
  • Beverly
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
    • Beverly is located in Kent County
  • Cascade
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cascade have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
    • Cascade is located in Kent County
  • Childsdale
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Childsdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childsdale
    • Childsdale is located in Kent County
  • Clyde Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde Park
    • Clyde Park is located in Kent County
  • Cutlerville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cutlerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutlerville
    • Cutlerville is located in Kent County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cutlerville <4>
  • Englishville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Englishville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englishville
    • Englishville is located in Kent County
  • Galewood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galewood
    • Galewood is located in Kent County
  • Grand Valley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Valley
    • Grand Valley is located in Ottawa County
  • Kentwood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kentwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentwood
    • Kentwood is located in Kent County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 51,719 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kentwood <4>
  • Wyoming
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)

How Far From Grand Rapids 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 Grand Rapids to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 58 miles [93.3 km]<1> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could walk a straight line from Grand Rapids to Lansing, with an average speed<5> 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 530 miles [853 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just over a day, a buggy would take 21 days and walking would take 31 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,058 miles [9,749.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,796 miles [10,937.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,679 miles [7,530.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

The official website for Grand Rapids: www.ci.grand-rapids.mi.us/

The official website for Kent County: www.accesskent.com/

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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Grand Rapids) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Grand Rapids. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.9633, Longitude: -85.6679    
<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 Grand Rapids, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<6>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 Grand Rapids to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.115 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.986 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.255 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024