Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alvord, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alvord and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Alvord
- 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 Alvord:
- 43.341837, -96.304312
- 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 Alvord
- 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 Lyon County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lyon County
- Since Alvord is near Sioux County and also Rock County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Sioux County
- eBird sighting report for Rock 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 Alvord ...
We found three communities that share the name Alvord.
Within Iowa, the name Alvord is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Missouri
- Texas
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Alvord ...
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.
- Ash Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north) - Bruce
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Edna
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Elm Spring
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elm Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Spring
- Elm Spring is located in Sioux County
- Hills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills
- Hills is located in Rock County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 647 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hills <4>
- Hull
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hull have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <4>
- Lester
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Rock Rapids
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Rapids
- Rock Rapids is located in Lyon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,518 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rock Rapids <4>
- Rock Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <4>
How Far From Alvord to ...
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 city such as Alvord to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Alvord and extending to:
- Rock Rapids, which is the Seat of Lyon County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Alvord to Rock Rapids, 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.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 182 miles [292.9 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,045 miles [1,681.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 41 days and walking would take 60 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,406 miles [10,309.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,162 miles [11,526.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,073 miles [8,164.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alvord. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
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 Alvord, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Alvord) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alvord. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.3418, Longitude: -96.3043 |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Alvord to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.428 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.385 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.685 degrees. |