Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Holland, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Holland and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Holland
- 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 Holland:
- 42.783044, -86.108968
- 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 Holland
- 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 Holland is near Allegan County and also Kent County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Allegan County
- eBird sighting report for Kent 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 Holland ...
We found 32 communities that share the name Holland.
Within Michigan, the name Holland is unique.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another 32 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 32 communities, 30 are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Faulkner County
- This Holland is located in Faulkner County and lies 621 miles [999.4 km]<1> to the southwest of the Holland that is located in Ottawa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Faulkner County community of Holland.
- Lonoke County
- This Holland is located in Lonoke County and lies 629 miles [1,012.3 km] to the south southwest of the Holland that is located in Ottawa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lonoke County community of Holland.
- Florida
- Georgia
- Chattooga County
- This Holland is located in Chattooga County and lies 583 miles [938.2 km]<1> to the south of the Holland that is located in Ottawa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chattooga County community of Holland.
- Hall County
- This Holland is located in Hall County and lies 599 miles [964 km] to the south southeast of the Holland that is located in Ottawa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hall County community of Holland.
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Manitoba
- This Holland lies 766 miles [1,232.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Holland that is located in Ottawa County.
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Jersey
- Hunterdon County
- This Holland is located in Hunterdon County and lies 584 miles [939.9 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Holland that is located in Ottawa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hunterdon County community of Holland.
- Monmouth County
- This Holland is located in Monmouth County and lies 606 miles [975.3 km] to the east of the Holland that is located in Ottawa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monmouth County community of Holland.
- New York
- Erie County
- This Holland is located in Erie County and lies 383 miles [616.4 km]<1> to the east of the Holland that is located in Ottawa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of Holland.
- Queens County
- This Holland is located in Queens County and lies 651 miles [1,047.7 km] to the east of the Holland that is located in Ottawa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Queens County community of Holland.
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Holland lies 519 miles [835.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Holland that is located in Ottawa County.
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Arkansas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Holland ...
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
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Castle Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castle Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Park
- Castle Park is located in Allegan County
- Crisp
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Harlem
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - New Holland
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Holland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Holland
- New Holland is located in Ottawa County
- Oxbow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Pine Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek
- Pine Creek is located in Ottawa County
- Singapore ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Virginia Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 Holland to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Holland to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Holland and extending to:
- Grand Haven, which is the Seat of Ottawa County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Holland to Grand Haven, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 78 miles [125.5 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 544 miles [875.5 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,083 miles [9,789.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,821 miles [10,977.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,705 miles [7,572 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Holland: www.ci.holland.mi.us/
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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Holland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Holland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.7830, Longitude: -86.1090 |
| <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 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 Holland 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> | 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 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. |
| <5> | 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 Holland to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.412 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.296 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.534 degrees. |