RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Michigan >> Ottawa County >> Pearline >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Pearline, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Pearline 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 Pearline:
    • 42.972246, -85.924208
    • 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 Pearline
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Ottawa County
    • Since Pearline is near Kent County and also Muskegon County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Kent County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Muskegon 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 Pearline

Curious and Interesting Names Near Pearline ...

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 south)
    • Beaverdam is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverdam
  • Beverly
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Beverly is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
  • Clark Corners
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Clark Corners is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark Corners
  • Clyde Park
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Clyde Park is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde Park
  • Crisp
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Crisp is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crisp
  • Forest Grove
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Forest Grove is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove
  • Forest Grove Station
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Forest Grove Station is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove Station
  • Fruit Ridge Center
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fruit Ridge Center is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruit Ridge Center
  • Galewood
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Galewood is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galewood
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Grand Rapids
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Grand Valley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Grand Valley is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Valley
    • Harlem
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Harlem is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
    • Jamestown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jamestown is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
    • New Holland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • New Holland is located in Ottawa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Holland
    • Wyoming
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Pearline and extending to:

  • Grand Haven, which is the Seat of Ottawa County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Pearline to Grand Haven, 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 five to six hours.
  • Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 71 miles [114.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take 4 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 541 miles [870.7 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,067 miles [9,763.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,806 miles [10,953.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,689 miles [7,546.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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- Pearline) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Pearline 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 Pearline. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.9722, Longitude: -85.9242       In this case, the coordinates for Pearline have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.285 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.179 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.381 degrees.