Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Willis, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Willis and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Willis
- 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 Willis:
- 42.158374, -83.557992
- 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 Willis
- 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 Washtenaw County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Washtenaw County
- Since Willis is near Wayne County and also Monroe County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Wayne County
- eBird sighting report for Monroe 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 Willis ...
We found twenty communities that share the name Willis.
There is one other community in Michigan which is also named Willis.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another nineteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In Michigan ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Beaverhead 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 Montana community of Willis [Beaverhead County].
- Missoula County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Montana community of Willis [Missoula County].
- Nebraska
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Tennessee
- Hancock County
- This Willis is located in Hancock County and lies 385 miles [619.6 km]<2> to the south of the Willis that is located in Washtenaw County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hancock County community of Willis.
- Haywood County
- This Willis is located in Haywood County and lies 554 miles [891.6 km] to the southwest of the Willis that is located in Washtenaw County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Haywood County community of Willis.
- Lawrence 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 Tennessee community of Willis [Lawrence County].
- Texas
- Virginia
- Floyd County
- This Willis is located in Floyd County and lies 400 miles [643.7 km]<2> to the south southeast of the Willis that is located in Washtenaw County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Floyd County community of Willis.
- Russell County
- This Willis is located in Russell County and lies 373 miles [600.3 km] to the south southeast of the Willis that is located in Washtenaw County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Russell County community of Willis.
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Willis ...
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.
- French Landing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for French Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Landing
- French Landing is located in Wayne County
- Lincoln
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west) - London
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Martinsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martinsville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
- Martinsville is located in Wayne County
- Paint Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paint Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Creek
- Paint Creek is located in Washtenaw County
- Stony Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stony Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
- Stony Creek is located in Washtenaw County
- Superior
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Willow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Willow Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Run have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Run
- Willow Run is located in Washtenaw County
How Far From Willis 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 Willis to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Willis and extending to:
- Ann Arbor, which is the Seat of Washtenaw County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Willis to Ann Arbor, 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 64 miles [103 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 409 miles [658.2 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 24 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,016 miles [9,681.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,748 miles [10,859.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,627 miles [7,446.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Willis. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Washtenaw County: www.ewashtenaw.org/
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 Willis 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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Willis) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Willis. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1584, Longitude: -83.5580 In this case, the coordinates for Willis have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Willis, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Willis 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 311.762 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.33 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.484 degrees. |