Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Harlem, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Harlem and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Harlem
- 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 Harlem:
- 42.870578, -86.113655
- 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 Harlem
- 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 Ottawa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Ottawa County
- Since Harlem is near Allegan County and also Muskegon County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Allegan County
- eBird sighting report for Muskegon 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 Harlem ...
We found seventeen communities that share the name Harlem.
Within Michigan, the name Harlem is unique.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another seventeen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seventeen communities, sixteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Florida
- Hendry County
- This Harlem is located in Hendry County and lies 1,151 miles [1,852.4 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Harlem that is located in Ottawa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hendry County community of Harlem.
- Putnam County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Florida community of Harlem [Putnam County].
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Louisiana
- Plaquemines Parish
- This Harlem is located in Plaquemines Parish and lies 938 miles [1,509.6 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Harlem that is located in Ottawa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Plaquemines Parish community of Harlem.
- Vermilion Parish
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Louisiana community of Harlem [Vermilion Parish].
- Missouri
- Montana
- New York
- Erie County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New York community of Harlem [Erie County].
- New York County
- This Harlem is located in New York County and lies 641 miles [1,031.6 km]<1> to the east of the Harlem that is located in Ottawa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the New York County community of Harlem.
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Harlem lies 513 miles [825.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Harlem that is located in Ottawa County.
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Harlem ...
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.
- Beaverdam
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Castle Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castle Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Park
- Castle Park is located in Allegan County
- Clark Corners
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clark Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark Corners
- Clark Corners is located in Ottawa County
- Crisp
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast) - Holland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Holland is located in Ottawa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 33,140 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holland <5>
- New Holland
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Holland have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Holland
- New Holland is located in Ottawa County
- Pearline
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast) - Pine Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek
- Pine Creek is located in Ottawa County
- Snug Harbor
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snug Harbor have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snug Harbor
- Snug Harbor is located in Ottawa County
- Virginia Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Park
- Virginia Park is located in Ottawa County
How Far From Harlem 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 Harlem to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Harlem and extending to:
- Grand Haven, which is the Seat of Ottawa County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Harlem to Grand Haven, with an average speed<6> 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 79 miles [127.1 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 547 miles [880.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 22 days and walking would take 31 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,079 miles [9,783.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,817 miles [10,970.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,701 miles [7,565.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Harlem. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Ottawa County: www.co.ottawa.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Harlem) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Harlem. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8706, Longitude: -86.1137 In this case, the coordinates for Harlem 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 Harlem 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 Harlem, 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> | 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 Harlem 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 313.413 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.31 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.508 degrees. |