Curious and Interesting Names Near Roman Valley ...
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.
Erinville (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erinville came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<1>
Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Glassburn. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Marydale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Meadow Green. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Roman Valley to various places of note, such as Parliament Hill.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Roman Valley and extending to:
The National Capital at Parliament Hill (Ottawa, ON) is 675 miles [1,086.3 km]<3> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Roman Valley to Parliament Hill, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 39 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 27 days.
The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 4,997 miles [8,041.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 5,701 miles [9,174.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 3,578 miles [5,758.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
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>
An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>
Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Roman Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Roman Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.4556, Longitude: -61.7458
<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 Roman Valley 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 297.703 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 293.116 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 294.345 degrees.