Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bluffton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bluffton and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bluffton
- 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 Bluffton:
- 40.742443, -85.173126
- 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 Bluffton
- 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 Wells County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Wells County
- Since Bluffton is near Adams County and also Huntington County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Adams County
- eBird sighting report for Huntington 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 Bluffton ...
We found sixteen communities that share the name Bluffton.
Within Indiana, the name Bluffton is unique.
Beyond Indiana, we know of another sixteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these sixteen communities, fifteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Alberta
- This Bluffton lies 1,591 miles [2,560.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Bluffton that is located in Wells County.
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Coffey County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Bluffton [Coffey County].
- Ottawa 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 Bluffton [Ottawa County].
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montgomery County
- This Bluffton is located in Montgomery County and lies 370 miles [595.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Bluffton that is located in Wells County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Bluffton.
- Ray County
- Although located in Ray County, we don't know the location within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ray County community of Bluffton.
- Ohio
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bluffton ...
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.
- Craigville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigville
- Craigville is located in Wells County
- Curryville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Curryville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curryville
- Curryville is located in Wells County
- Greenville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Greenville is located in Wells County
- Greenwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Honduras
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Kingsland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Liberty Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Center
- Liberty Center is located in Wells County
- Murray
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Toll Gate Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toll Gate Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toll Gate Heights
- Toll Gate Heights is located in Wells County
How Far From Bluffton 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 Bluffton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bluffton and extending to:
- Indianapolis, which is the State Capital of Indiana, lies 85 miles [136.8 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Bluffton to Indianapolis, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 449 miles [722.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 18 days and walking would take 26 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,144 miles [9,887.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,874 miles [11,062.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,753 miles [7,649.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Bluffton: www.ci.bluffton.in.us/
The official website for Wells County: www.wellscounty.org/
The official website for State of Indiana: https://www.in.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- Bluffton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bluffton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.7424, Longitude: -85.1731 In this case, the coordinates for Bluffton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 Bluffton 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. |
| <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 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 Bluffton 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 312.839 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.347 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.715 degrees. |