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.
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 Leitrim to various places of note, such as Parliament Hill.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Leitrim and extending to:
The National Capital at Parliament Hill (Ottawa, ON) is just to the northwest (NW).
The shortest distance<2> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,570 miles [8,964 km]<1> and it lies to the northeast (NE).<3>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,298 miles [10,135.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<4>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,176 miles [6,720.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>'
Footnotes ...
<1>
Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Leitrim) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>
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 Leitrim 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 Leitrim. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.3333, Longitude: -75.6000
<3>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 306.376 degrees.
<4>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.761 degrees.
<5>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.257 degrees.