Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in West Branch, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Branch and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for West Branch
- 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 West Branch:
- 44.27628, -84.238574
- 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 West Branch
- 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 Ogemaw County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Ogemaw County
- Since West Branch is near Roscommon County and also Arenac County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Roscommon County
- eBird sighting report for Arenac 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 West Branch ...
We found nine communities that share the name West Branch.
There is one other community in Michigan which is also named West Branch.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Located In Michigan ...
- Marquette 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 Michigan community of West Branch [Marquette County].
- Marquette County
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Butte 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 California community of West Branch [Butte County].
- Iowa
- Cedar County
- This West Branch is located in Cedar County and lies 401 miles [645.3 km]<2> to the west southwest of the West Branch that is located in Ogemaw County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cedar County community of West Branch.
- New Brunswick
- This West Branch lies 945 miles [1,520.8 km]<2> to the east northeast of the West Branch that is located in Ogemaw County.
- New York
- Oneida County
- This West Branch is located in Oneida County and lies 440 miles [708.1 km]<2> to the east of the West Branch that is located in Ogemaw County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oneida County community of West Branch.
- Nova Scotia
- This West Branch lies 1,037 miles [1,668.9 km]<2> to the east northeast of the West Branch that is located in Ogemaw County.
- Pennsylvania
- Cambria County
- This West Branch is located in Cambria County and lies 373 miles [600.3 km]<2> to the southeast of the West Branch that is located in Ogemaw County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cambria County community of West Branch.
- Vermont
- Lamoille County
- This West Branch is located in Lamoille County and lies 568 miles [914.1 km]<2> to the east of the West Branch that is located in Ogemaw County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lamoille County community of West Branch.
- Washington
- Spokane 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 Washington community of West Branch [Spokane County].
- California
Curious and Interesting Names Near West Branch ...
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.
- Butman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest) - Edwards
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Elbow Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elbow Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbow Lake
- Elbow Lake is located in Ogemaw County
- Greenwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Hard Luck
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south) - Keno
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest) - Maple Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Valley
- Maple Valley is located in Roscommon County
- Rose City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rose City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose City
- Rose City is located in Ogemaw County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 629 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rose City <4>
- Shady Shores
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Shores
- Shady Shores is located in Ogemaw County
- Skidway Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skidway Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skidway Lake
- Skidway Lake is located in Ogemaw County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Skidway Lake <4>
- Sugar Rapids
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Rapids
- Sugar Rapids is located in Gladwin County
How Far From West Branch 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 West Branch to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in West Branch and extending to:
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 107 miles [172.2 km]<2> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from West Branch to Lansing, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 525 miles [844.9 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 21 days and walking would take 30 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,944 miles [9,565.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,683 miles [10,755.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,568 miles [7,351.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for West Branch: www.westbranch.com/
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 West Branch 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 '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- West Branch) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Branch. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.2763, Longitude: -84.2386 |
| <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 West Branch 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 312.115 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.047 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.084 degrees. |