Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alton and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Alton
- 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 Alton:
- 42.987512, -96.009327
- 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 Alton
- 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 Sioux County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Sioux County
- Since Alton is near O'Brien County and also Plymouth County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for O'Brien County
- eBird sighting report for Plymouth 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 Alton ...
We found 35 communities that share the name Alton.
Within Iowa, the name Alton is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another 35 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 35 communities, 33 are located in the United States and four are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Milton 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 Georgia community of Alton [Milton County].
- Tattnall County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Alton [Tattnall County].
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Lyon 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 Kansas community of Alton [Lyon County].
- Osborne County
- This Alton is located in Osborne County and lies 286 miles [460.3 km]<1> to the southwest of the Alton that is located in Sioux County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Osborne County community of Alton.
- Sumner County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Alton [Sumner County].
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Concordia Parish
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Louisiana community of Alton [Concordia Parish].
- Saint Tammany Parish
- This Alton is located in Saint Tammany Parish and lies 939 miles [1,511.2 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Alton that is located in Sioux County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Tammany Parish community of Alton.
- Maine
- Michigan
- Delta County
- This Alton is located in Delta County and lies 491 miles [790.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Alton that is located in Sioux County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Delta County community of Alton.
- Kent County
- This Alton is located in Kent County and lies 537 miles [864.2 km] to the east of the Alton that is located in Sioux County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kent County community of Alton.
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Nova Scotia
- This Alton lies 1,618 miles [2,603.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Alton that is located in Sioux County.
- Ohio
- Ontario
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Texas
- Denton County
- This community is historic<2> and although located in Denton County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Denton County community of Alton.
- Hidalgo County
- This Alton is located in Hidalgo County and lies 1,160 miles [1,866.8 km]<1> to the south of the Alton that is located in Sioux County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hidalgo County community of Alton.
- Utah
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Alton ...
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.
- Archer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Archer have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archer
- Archer is located in O'Brien County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Archer <5>
- Craig
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest) - Hull
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hull have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull
- Hull is located in Sioux County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,296 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hull <5>
- Mapleside
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east) - Marcus
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marcus have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Marcus is located in Cherokee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,055 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marcus <5>
- Orange City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange City
- Orange City is located in Sioux County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,260 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orange City <5>
- Plymouth ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest) - Rock Valley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Valley
- Rock Valley is located in Sioux County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,901 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rock Valley <5>
- Union Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Center have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Center
- Union Center is located in Plymouth County
How Far From Alton 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 city such as Alton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Alton and extending to:
- Orange City, which is the Seat of Sioux County, lies just to the West Northwest.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 155 miles [249.4 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Alton to Des Moines, with an average speed<6>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 1,026 miles [1,651.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 40 days and walking would take 59 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,415 miles [10,323.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,171 miles [11,540.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,079 miles [8,173.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Sioux County: www.siouxcounty.org/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Alton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.9875, Longitude: -96.0093 In this case, the coordinates for Alton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Alton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Alton 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> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Alton to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.207 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.086 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.603 degrees. |