RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Mississippi >> Simpson County >> Merit >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Merit, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Merit and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Merit:
    • 31.927936, -89.908690
    • 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 Merit
  • 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 Simpson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Simpson County
    • Since Merit is near Rankin County and also Jefferson Davis County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Rankin County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson Davis 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 Merit

Communities Also Named Merit ...

We found one communities that are also named Merit.

Within Mississippi, the name Merit is unique.

Beyond Mississippi, there is another community also named Merit in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Texas
      • Hunt County
      • This Merit is located in Hunt County and lies 381 miles [613.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Merit that is located in Simpson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hunt County community of Merit.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Merit ...

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.

  • Bush
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bush is located in Simpson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush
  • Cyclone
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Cyclone is located in Simpson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cyclone
  • Everett
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Everett is located in Simpson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everett
  • George ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • George is located in Rankin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for George
  • Gum Springs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Gum Springs is located in Simpson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Springs
  • Joe ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Joe is located in Rankin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joe
  • Magee
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Magee is located in Simpson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magee
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,094 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Magee <2>
  • Martinville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Martinville is located in Simpson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinville
  • Piney Woods
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Piney Woods is located in Rankin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Woods
  • Sanatorium
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Sanatorium is located in Simpson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanatorium
  • Shivers
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Shivers is located in Simpson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shivers
  • Touchstone
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Touchstone is located in Simpson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Touchstone
  • Union
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Union is located in Simpson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
  • Zion Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Zion Hill is located in Simpson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion Hill

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

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

  • Mendenhall, which is the Seat of Simpson County, lies just to the Northeast.
  • Jackson, which is the State Capital of Mississippi, lies 30 miles [48.3 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could walk a straight line from Merit to Jackson, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 868 miles [1,396.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of two days, a buggy would take 34 days and walking would take 50 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,757 miles [10,874.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,469 miles [12,020.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,345 miles [8,601.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Merit) 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 Merit 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 Merit. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.9279, Longitude: -89.9087       In this case, the coordinates for Merit have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.434 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.109 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.846 degrees.