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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rockwood, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rockwood 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 Rockwood:
    • 42.070321, -83.244373
    • 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 Rockwood
  • 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 Wayne County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wayne County
    • Since Rockwood is near Monroe County and also Washtenaw County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Monroe County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washtenaw 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 Rockwood

Communities Also Named Rockwood ...

We found 22 communities that are also named Rockwood.

Within Michigan, the name Rockwood is unique.

Beyond Michigan, we know of 22 communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these 22 communities, twenty are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Franklin County
      • This Rockwood is located in Franklin County and lies 580 miles [933.4 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Rockwood.
    • California
      • Imperial County
      • This Rockwood is located in Imperial County and lies 1,859 miles [2,991.8 km]<1> to the west of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Imperial County community of Rockwood.
    • Colorado
      • La Plata County
      • This Rockwood is located in La Plata County and lies 1,335 miles [2,148.5 km]<1> to the west of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the La Plata County community of Rockwood.
    • Illinois
      • Randolph County
      • This Rockwood is located in Randolph County and lies 449 miles [722.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Randolph County community of Rockwood.
    • Kentucky
      • Fayette County
      • This Rockwood is located in Fayette County and lies 284 miles [457.1 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Rockwood.
    • Maine
      • Somerset County
      • This Rockwood is located in Somerset County and lies 715 miles [1,150.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Somerset County community of Rockwood.
    • Manitoba
      • This Rockwood lies 868 miles [1,396.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
    • Minnesota
      • Polk County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Minnesota community of Rockwood [Polk County].
    • New Hampshire
      • Cheshire County
      • This Rockwood is located in Cheshire County and lies 565 miles [909.3 km]<1> to the east of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cheshire County community of Rockwood.
    • New Jersey
      • Atlantic County
      • This Rockwood is located in Atlantic County and lies 475 miles [764.4 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Atlantic County community of Rockwood.
    • New York
      • Fulton County
      • This Rockwood is located in Fulton County and lies 449 miles [722.6 km]<1> to the east of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fulton County community of Rockwood.
    • North Carolina
      • Alamance County
      • This Rockwood is located in Alamance County and lies 464 miles [746.7 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Alamance County community of Rockwood.
      • Durham County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Rockwood [Durham County].
    • Ohio
      • Lawrence County
      • This Rockwood is located in Lawrence County and lies 254 miles [408.8 km]<1> to the south of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lawrence County community of Rockwood.
    • Ontario
      • This Rockwood lies 189 miles [304.2 km]<1> to the northeast of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
    • Oregon
      • Multnomah County
      • This Rockwood is located in Multnomah County and lies 1,950 miles [3,138.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Multnomah County community of Rockwood.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Lebanon County
      • This Rockwood is located in Lebanon County and lies 371 miles [597.1 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lebanon County community of Rockwood.
      • Somerset County
      • This Rockwood is located in Somerset County and lies 259 miles [416.8 km] to the southeast of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Somerset County community of Rockwood.
      • Venango County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Rockwood [Venango County].
    • Tennessee
      • Roane County
      • This Rockwood is located in Roane County and lies 434 miles [698.5 km]<1> to the south of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roane County community of Rockwood.
    • Texas
      • Coleman County
      • This Rockwood is located in Coleman County and lies 1,149 miles [1,849.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Coleman County community of Rockwood.
    • Wisconsin
      • Manitowoc County
      • This Rockwood is located in Manitowoc County and lies 267 miles [429.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Rockwood that is located in Wayne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Manitowoc County community of Rockwood.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rockwood ...

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.

  • Cherry Island
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Cherry Island is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Island
  • Edgewater Beach
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Flat Rock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Glen Eden
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Maple Beach
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Maple Beach is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Beach
  • Riverview
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Stony Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Stony Creek is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
  • Stony Point
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Stony Point is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
  • Sunset Beach
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Willow
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Willow is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow
  • Willow Beach
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Willowood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)

How Far From Rockwood 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 city such as Rockwood to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Detroit, which is the Seat of Wayne County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rockwood to Detroit, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 80 miles [128.7 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 392 miles [630.9 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,008 miles [9,668.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,739 miles [10,845.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,618 miles [7,432 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 from Point A (ie- Rockwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Rockwood 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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Rockwood 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 Rockwood. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.0703, Longitude: -83.2444       In this case, the coordinates for Rockwood have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.563 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.091 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.363 degrees.