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.
Charlie Ridge (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
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 Skiff Lake to various places of note, such as Parliament Hill.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Skiff Lake and extending to:
The National Capital at Parliament Hill (Ottawa, ON) is 396 miles [637.3 km]<2> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Skiff Lake to Parliament Hill, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 23 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 16 days.
The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,226 miles [8,410.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 5,941 miles [9,561.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 3,817 miles [6,142.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
Footnotes ...
<1>
If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<2>
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 from Point A (ie- Skiff Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Skiff Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.8419, Longitude: -67.5043
<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 Skiff Lake to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<5>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 301.16 degrees.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 297.03 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 296.921 degrees.