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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Houghton Lake, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Houghton Lake and the surrounding area.
- 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 Houghton Lake:
- 44.314739, -84.764750
- 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 Houghton Lake
- 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Houghton Lake ...
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.
- Buck Trails
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buck Trails have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Trails
- Buck Trails is located in Clare County
- Hillcrest
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
- Hillcrest is located in Roscommon County
- Long Lake Heights
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Lake Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lake Heights
- Long Lake Heights is located in Clare County
- Maple Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Valley
- Maple Valley is located in Roscommon County
- Meads Landing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meads Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meads Landing
- Meads Landing is located in Roscommon County
- Piney Woods
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piney Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Woods
- Piney Woods is located in Clare County
- Prosper
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prosper have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosper
- Prosper is located in Missaukee County
- Rainbow Bend
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rainbow Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainbow Bend
- Rainbow Bend is located in Clare County
- Star City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Star City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Star City is located in Missaukee County
- Tent City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tent City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tent City
- Tent City is located in Roscommon County
How Far From Houghton Lake 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 Houghton Lake to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Houghton Lake and extending to:
- Roscommon, which is the Seat of Roscommon County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<2> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Houghton Lake to Roscommon, with an average speed<3> 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 109 miles [175.4 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 546 miles [878.7 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 22 days and walking would take 31 days.
- The shortest distance<4> 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).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,702 miles [10,785.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,587 miles [7,382.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Houghton Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Houghton Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.3147, Longitude: -84.7648 In this case, the coordinates for Houghton Lake have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Houghton Lake to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.464 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.447 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.34 degrees. |
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