Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Tompkins, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Tompkins and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Tompkins
- 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 Tompkins:
- 42.373092, -84.541636
- 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 Tompkins
- 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 Jackson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson County
- Since Tompkins is near Ingham County and also Eaton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Ingham County
- eBird sighting report for Eaton 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 Tompkins ...
We found six communities that share the name Tompkins.
Within Michigan, the name Tompkins is unique.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these six communities, four are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- This Tompkins lies 1,284 miles [2,066.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Tompkins that is located in Jackson County.
- Pennsylvania
- Saskatchewan
- This Tompkins lies 1,267 miles [2,039 km]<1> to the northwest of the Tompkins that is located in Jackson County.
- South Carolina
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Tompkins ...
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.
- Duck Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Lake
- Duck Lake is located in Calhoun County
- Eden
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast) - Kingsland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north) - Leslie
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leslie
- Leslie is located in Ingham County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,883 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leslie <4>
- Mason
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
- Mason is located in Ingham County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,389 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason <4>
- Michigan Center
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Michigan Center. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Center
- Michigan Center is located in Jackson County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Michigan Center <4>
- Pleasant Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Pleasant Lake is located in Jackson County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Lake <4>
- Rice Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Creek
- Rice Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Roots
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east) - Sandstone
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandstone
- Sandstone is located in Jackson County
How Far From Tompkins 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 Tompkins to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Tompkins and extending to:
- Jackson, which is the Seat of Jackson County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Tompkins to Jackson, 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 24 miles [38.6 km] to the north (N). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 460 miles [740.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 18 days and walking would take 27 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,044 miles [9,726.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,778 miles [10,908.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,658 miles [7,496.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Tompkins. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Jackson County: www.co.jackson.mi.us/
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Tompkins) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Tompkins. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3731, Longitude: -84.5416 In this case, the coordinates for Tompkins have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <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 Tompkins 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 312.393 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.079 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.891 degrees. |