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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ypsilanti, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ypsilanti 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 Ypsilanti:
    • 42.243634, -83.617444
    • 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 Ypsilanti
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washtenaw County
    • Since Ypsilanti is near Wayne County and also Monroe County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wayne County
    • Open the 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Ypsilanti

Communities Also Named Ypsilanti ...

We found two communities that are also named Ypsilanti.

Within Michigan, the name Ypsilanti is unique.

Beyond Michigan, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Georgia
      • Talbot County
      • This Ypsilanti is located in Talbot County and lies 657 miles [1,057.3 km]<1> to the south of the Ypsilanti that is located in Washtenaw County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Talbot County community of Ypsilanti.
    • North Dakota
      • Stutsman County
      • This Ypsilanti is located in Stutsman County and lies 798 miles [1,284.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Ypsilanti that is located in Washtenaw County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stutsman County community of Ypsilanti.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ypsilanti ...

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 Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cherry Hill is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Hill
  • French Landing
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • French Landing is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Landing
  • Lincoln
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Lincoln is located in Washtenaw County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
  • Martinsville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Martinsville is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
  • Paint Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Paint Creek is located in Washtenaw County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Creek
  • Saline
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Stony Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Superior
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Superior is located in Washtenaw County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior
  • Willow Run
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Willow Run is located in Washtenaw County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Run

How Far From Ypsilanti to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Ypsilanti to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Ann Arbor, which is the Seat of Washtenaw County, lies just to the West Northwest.
  • Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 58 miles [93.3 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could walk a straight line from Ypsilanti to Lansing, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 415 miles [667.9 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 17 days and walking would take 24 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,015 miles [9,680.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,747 miles [10,858.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,626 miles [7,444.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Ypsilanti) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Ypsilanti 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 Ypsilanti. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2436, Longitude: -83.6174    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.797 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.383 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.484 degrees.