Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Meramec Springs, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Meramec Springs and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Meramec Springs
- 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 Meramec Springs:
- 37.955321, -91.534875
- 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 Meramec Springs
- 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 Phelps County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Phelps County
- Since Meramec Springs is near Crawford County and also Maries County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Crawford County
- eBird sighting report for Maries 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Meramec Springs ...
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.
- Austria ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - De Camp ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Dean Ford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Fanning
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Flag Spring
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flag Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flag Spring
- Flag Spring is located in Phelps County
- Fox Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fox Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Springs
- Fox Springs is located in Crawford County
- Idlewild
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Iron Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iron Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Center
- Iron Center is located in Crawford County
- Thousand Oaks
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thousand Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thousand Oaks
- Thousand Oaks is located in Crawford County
How Far From Meramec Springs 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 Meramec Springs to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<2> community of Meramec Springs once stood, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Meramec Springs and extending to:
- Rolla, which is the Seat of Phelps County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<3> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Meramec Springs to Rolla, with an average speed<4> 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.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 786 miles [1,264.9 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 31 days and walking would take 45 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,520 miles [10,492.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,256 miles [11,677.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,137 miles [8,267.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Phelps County: www.phelpscounty.org/
The official website for State of Missouri: https://www.mo.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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 Meramec Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Meramec Springs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Meramec Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9553, Longitude: -91.5349 In this case, the coordinates for Meramec Springs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Meramec Springs to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.921 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.642 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.424 degrees. |