As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in South Canyon Country Estates, we use the following websites to find information relevant to South Canyon Country Estates and the surrounding area.
Weather ...
Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
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 South Canyon Country Estates:
44.101932, -103.362964
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.
Curious and Interesting Names Near South Canyon Country Estates ...
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 South Canyon Country Estates to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in South Canyon Country Estates and extending to:
Pierre, which is the State Capital of South Dakota, lies 149 miles [239.8 km]<3> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from South Canyon Country Estates to Pierre, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,401 miles [2,254.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 55 days and walking would take 80 days.
The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,576 miles [10,583 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,341 miles [11,814.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,288 miles [8,510.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Footnotes ...
<1>
While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>
The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<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 from Point A (ie- South Canyon Country Estates) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in South Canyon Country Estates. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.1019, Longitude: -103.3630 In this case, the coordinates for South Canyon Country Estates have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 South Canyon Country Estates 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 325.628 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 324.465 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 316.465 degrees.