RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Michigan >> Cass County >> Maple Island >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Maple Island, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Maple Island 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 Maple Island:
    • 42.063376, -86.177239
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Maple Island
  • 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 Cass County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cass County
    • Since Maple Island is near Van Buren County and also Berrien County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Van Buren County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Berrien 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Maple Island

Communities Also Named Maple Island ...

We found three communities that are also named Maple Island.

Within Michigan, the name Maple Island is unique.

Beyond Michigan, we know of three communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these three communities, .

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Minnesota
      • Freeborn County
      • This Maple Island is located in Freeborn County and lies 372 miles [598.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Maple Island that is located in Cass County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Freeborn County community of Maple Island.
      • Washington County
      • This Maple Island is located in Washington County and lies 396 miles [637.3 km] to the northwest of the Maple Island that is located in Cass County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Maple Island.
    • Ontario
      • This Maple Island lies 401 miles [645.3 km]<1> to the northeast of the Maple Island that is located in Cass County.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Maple Island ...

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.

  • Five Mile Corners
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Five Mile Corners is located in Cass County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Mile Corners
  • Fritzburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fritzburg is located in Van Buren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fritzburg
  • Hartman
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Hartman is located in Berrien County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartman
  • Indian Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Indian Lake is located in Cass County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Lake
  • Naomi
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Naomi is located in Berrien County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naomi
  • Pearl Grange
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Pearl Grange is located in Berrien County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl Grange
  • Sandy Beach
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Sandy Beach is located in Cass County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Beach
  • Shanghai Corners
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Shanghai Corners is located in Berrien County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanghai Corners
  • Sister Lakes
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Sister Lakes is located in Van Buren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sister Lakes
  • Twin Lakes
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Twin Lakes is located in Cass County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes

How Far From Maple Island 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 community such as Maple Island to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Cassopolis, which is the Seat of Cass County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Maple Island to Cassopolis, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours 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 94 miles [151.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). 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 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 527 miles [848.1 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 21 days and walking would take 30 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,120 miles [9,849.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,856 miles [11,033.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,738 miles [7,625.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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- Maple Island) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Maple Island to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Maple Island. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.0634, Longitude: -86.1772       In this case, the coordinates for Maple Island have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.472 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.26 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.793 degrees.