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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Mecca, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mecca 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 Mecca:
- 44.771036, -121.207761
- 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 Mecca
- 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 Jefferson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
- Since Mecca is near Wasco County and also Deschutes County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Wasco County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Deschutes 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 Mecca
Communities Also Named Mecca ...
We found ten communities that are also named Mecca.
Within Oregon, the name Mecca is unique.
Beyond Oregon, we know of ten communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Lauderdale County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Mecca [Lauderdale County].
- California
- Riverside County
- This Mecca is located in Riverside County and lies 820 miles [1,319.7 km]<2> to the south southeast of the Mecca that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Riverside County community of Mecca.
- Florida
- Pinellas County
- This Mecca is located in Pinellas County and lies 2,400 miles [3,862.4 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Mecca that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pinellas County community of Mecca.
- Seminole County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Florida community of Mecca [Seminole County].
- Georgia
- Fulton County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Mecca [Fulton County].
- Indiana
- Parke County
- This Mecca is located in Parke County and lies 1,752 miles [2,819.6 km]<2> to the east of the Mecca that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Parke County community of Mecca.
- Missouri
- Clinton County
- This Mecca is located in Clinton County and lies 1,407 miles [2,264.3 km]<2> to the east of the Mecca that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clinton County community of Mecca.
- Ohio
- Trumbull County
- This Mecca is located in Trumbull County and lies 2,033 miles [3,271.8 km]<2> to the east of the Mecca that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Trumbull County community of Mecca.
- Tennessee
- McMinn County
- This Mecca is located in McMinn County and lies 2,029 miles [3,265.4 km]<2> to the east of the Mecca that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the McMinn County community of Mecca.
- Texas
- Madison County
- This Mecca is located in Madison County and lies 1,657 miles [2,666.7 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Mecca that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of Mecca.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Mecca ...
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.
- Geneva ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Grandview ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Grizzly
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Grizzly is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grizzly
- Hardy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hardy is located in Wasco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardy
- Jumpoff Joe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Jumpoff Joe is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumpoff Joe
- Opal City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Opal City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opal City
- Warm Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Whiskey Dick
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Whiskey Dick is located in Wasco County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiskey Dick
How Far From Mecca to ...
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 Mecca to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Mecca and extending to:
- Madras, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Mecca to Madras, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Salem, which is the State Capital of Oregon, lies 89 miles [143.2 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,279 miles [3,667.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 89 days and walking would take 130 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,939 miles [11,167.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,704 miles [12,398.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,796 miles [9,327.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Mecca, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- Mecca) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer.
Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.
Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.
Also keep in mind that Mecca could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Mecca 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 Mecca. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.7710, Longitude: -121.2078 |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 339.785 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 341.013 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.217 degrees. |
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