RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative
Quarter for
Michigan

The Commemorative Quarter for Michigan





Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in West Highland, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Highland 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 West Highland:
    • 42.636256, -83.662021
    • 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 Highland
  • 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 Highland ...

We found one communities that share the name West Highland.

Within Michigan, the name West Highland is unique.

Beyond Michigan, there is another community also named West Highland in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Georgia
      • Dougherty County
      • This West Highland is located in Dougherty County and lies 764 miles [1,229.5 km]<1> to the south of the West Highland that is located in Oakland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dougherty County community of West Highland.

Curious and Interesting Names Near West Highland ...

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.

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

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

  • Pontiac, which is the Seat of Oakland County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from West Highland to Pontiac, with an average speed<5> 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 five to six hours.
  • Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 45 miles [72.4 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 431 miles [693.6 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 17 days and walking would take 25 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,998 miles [9,652.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,732 miles [10,834.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,612 miles [7,422.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

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

The official website for Oakland County: www.co.oakland.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Highland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Highland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.6363, Longitude: -83.6620       In this case, the coordinates for West Highland have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<2>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.
<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 West Highland 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 311.811 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.457 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.371 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025