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, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a village such as Alsask to various places of note, such as Parliament Hill.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Alsask and extending to:
Regina, which is the Provincial Capital of Saskatchewan, lies 241 miles [387.9 km]<2> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Alsask to Regina, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 14 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 10 days.
The National Capital at Parliament Hill (Ottawa, ON) is 1,608 miles [2,587.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 63 days and walking would take 92 days.
The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,312 miles [10,158.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,081 miles [11,395.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,123 miles [8,244.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
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>
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- Alsask) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Alsask 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 Alsask. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 51.3500, Longitude: -109.9833
<5>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 330.982 degrees.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 331.341 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 319.245 degrees.