RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Otter Lake, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Otter Lake 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 Otter Lake:
    • 43.213590, -83.460502
    • 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 Otter 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

Communities Also Named Otter Lake ...

We found seven communities that share the name Otter Lake.

Within Michigan, the name Otter Lake is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Indiana
      • Steuben 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 Indiana community of Otter Lake [Steuben County].
    • Kansas
      • Pottawatomie 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 Otter Lake [Pottawatomie County].
    • Manitoba
      • This Otter Lake lies 919 miles [1,479 km]<2> to the northwest of the Otter Lake that is located in Lapeer County.
    • New York
      • Oneida County
      • This Otter Lake is located in Oneida County and lies 419 miles [674.3 km]<2> to the east of the Otter Lake that is located in Lapeer County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oneida County community of Otter Lake.
    • Nova Scotia
      • 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 Nova Scotia community of Otter Lake.
    • Ontario
      • This Otter Lake lies 226 miles [363.7 km]<2> to the northeast of the Otter Lake that is located in Lapeer County.
    • Quebec
      • This Otter Lake lies 391 miles [629.3 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Otter Lake that is located in Lapeer County.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Otter 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.

  • Birch Run
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Denmark Junction
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Denmark Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark Junction
    • Denmark Junction is located in Tuscola County
  • Elba
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elba have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
    • Elba is located in Lapeer County
  • Five Lakes
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Lakes
    • Five Lakes is located in Lapeer County
  • Flint
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
    • Flint is located in Genesee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 94,968 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flint <3>
  • Hunters Creek
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Creek
    • Hunters Creek is located in Lapeer County
  • Kings Mill
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Mill
    • Kings Mill is located in Lapeer County
  • Mayville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Pine Run
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Run have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Run
    • Pine Run is located in Genesee County
  • Richville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Rogersville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rogersville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
    • Rogersville is located in Genesee County
  • Silverwood
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silverwood have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverwood
    • Silverwood is located in Lapeer County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silverwood <3>

How Far From Otter 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 village such as Otter Lake to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Lapeer, which is the Seat of Lapeer County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Otter Lake to Lapeer, with an average speed<5> 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 64 miles [103 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 447 miles [719.4 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 18 days and walking would take 26 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,964 miles [9,598.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,699 miles [10,781 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,580 miles [7,370.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Otter Lake. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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 Otter Lake 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Otter Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Otter Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.2136, Longitude: -83.4605       In this case, the coordinates for Otter Lake have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 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 Otter Lake 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 311.654 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.366 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.07 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024