Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Avoca, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Avoca and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Avoca
- 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 Avoca:
- 43.949394, -95.645423
- 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 Avoca
- 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 Murray County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Murray County
- Since Avoca is near Nobles County and also Cottonwood County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Nobles County
- eBird sighting report for Cottonwood 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 Avoca ...
We found 25 communities that share the name Avoca.
Within Minnesota, the name Avoca is unique.
Beyond Minnesota, we know of another 25 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 25 communities, 24 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Butler 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 Avoca [Butler County].
- Chase 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 Avoca [Chase County].
- Jackson County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Avoca [Jackson County].
- Shawnee 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 Avoca [Shawnee County].
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Quebec
- This Avoca lies 1,029 miles [1,656 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Avoca that is located in Murray County.
- Tennessee
- Texas
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Avoca ...
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.
- Current Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Current Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Current Lake
- Current Lake is located in Murray County
- Diamond Corner
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Diamond Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Corner
- Diamond Corner is located in Pipestone County
- Dundee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast) - Heron Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heron Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heron Lake
- Heron Lake is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 643 people
- Lime Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lime Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Creek
- Lime Creek is located in Murray County
- Lowville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest) - Reading
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south) - Walnut Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Walnut Grove is located in Redwood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 798 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnut Grove <5>
How Far From Avoca 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 Avoca to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Avoca and extending to:
- Slayton, which is the Seat of Murray County, lies just to the West Northwest.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 143 miles [230.1 km]<2> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Avoca to Saint Paul, 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 1,021 miles [1,643.1 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 40 days and walking would take 58 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,353 miles [10,224.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,109 miles [11,440.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,021 miles [8,080.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Avoca. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Murray County: www.murray-countymn.com/
The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.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 Avoca, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Avoca) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Avoca. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.9494, Longitude: -95.6454 In this case, the coordinates for Avoca have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Avoca 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 Avoca 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 319.974 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.942 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.192 degrees. |