Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ottawa, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ottawa and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ottawa
- 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 Ottawa:
- 41.767269, -83.521323
- 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 Ottawa
- 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 Monroe County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Monroe County
- Since Ottawa is near Lucas County and also Wood County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lucas County
- eBird sighting report for Wood 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 Ottawa ...
We found fifteen communities that share the name Ottawa.
There is one other community in Michigan which is also named Ottawa.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another fourteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these fourteen communities, fourteen are located in the United States and three are in Canada.
- Communities Located In Michigan ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Clarke County
- This Ottawa is located in Clarke County and lies 523 miles [841.7 km]<2> to the west of the Ottawa that is located in Monroe County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clarke County community of Ottawa.
- Polk County
- This Ottawa is located in Polk County and lies 516 miles [830.4 km] to the west of the Ottawa that is located in Monroe County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Polk County community of Ottawa.
- Kansas
- Douglas County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Ottawa [Douglas County].
- Franklin County
- This Ottawa is located in Franklin County and lies 656 miles [1,055.7 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Ottawa that is located in Monroe County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Ottawa.
- Kentucky
- Minnesota
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Ontario
- This Ottawa lies 465 miles [748.3 km]<2> to the northeast of the Ottawa that is located in Monroe County.
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ottawa ...
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.
- Boulevard
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Erie
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
- Erie is located in Monroe County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erie <4>
- Ferndale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Grand View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand View have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand View
- Grand View is located in Monroe County
- Harbor View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harbor View have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor View
- Harbor View is located in Lucas County (OH)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
- Ida Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ida Center have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ida Center
- Ida Center is located in Monroe County
- Ironville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Liberty Corners
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Corners
- Liberty Corners is located in Monroe County
- Luna Pier
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Luna Pier have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luna Pier
- Luna Pier is located in Monroe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,393 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Luna Pier <4>
- Temperance
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temperance
- Temperance is located in Monroe County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Temperance <4>
- Willow Beach
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Beach
- Willow Beach is located in Lucas County (OH)
How Far From Ottawa 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 Ottawa to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ottawa and extending to:
- Monroe, which is the Seat of Monroe County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Ottawa to Monroe, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 85 miles [136.8 km] to the northwest (NW). 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 394 miles [634.1 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 23 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,033 miles [9,709.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,763 miles [10,884 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,642 miles [7,470.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ottawa. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Monroe County: www.co.monroe.mi.us/
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Ottawa 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ottawa) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ottawa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7673, Longitude: -83.5213 In this case, the coordinates for Ottawa have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Ottawa 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 311.752 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.261 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.599 degrees. |