Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Merit, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Merit and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Merit
- 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 Merit:
- 33.216224, -96.286985
- 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.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Merit
- 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 Hunt County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Hunt County
- Since Merit is near Collin County and also Fannin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Collin County
- eBird sighting report for Fannin 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Merit ...
We found one communities that share the name Merit.
Within Texas, the name Merit is unique.
Beyond Texas, there is another community also named Merit in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Merit ...
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.
- Arnold
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Celeste
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Celeste have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celeste
- Celeste is located in Hunt County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 931 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Celeste <3>
- Farmersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmersville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmersville
- Farmersville is located in Collin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,711 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farmersville <3>
- Floyd
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Kellogg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Lane
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Pike
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Snow Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Merit 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 Merit to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Merit and extending to:
- Greenville, which is the Seat of Hunt County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Merit to Greenville, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 220 miles [354.1 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,141 miles [1,836.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 45 days and walking would take 65 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,942 miles [11,172.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,676 miles [12,353.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,555 miles [8,939.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Merit. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Hunt County: www.huntcounty.net
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Merit) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Merit. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.2162, Longitude: -96.2870 |
| <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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Merit 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 319.655 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.206 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.38 degrees. |