Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bell, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bell and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bell
- 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 Bell:
- 41.957211, -95.495834
- 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 Bell
- 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 Crawford County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Crawford County
- Since Bell is near Shelby County and also Harrison County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Shelby County
- eBird sighting report for Harrison 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 Bell ...
We found 21 communities that share the name Bell.
Within Iowa, the name Bell is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another 21 communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arizona
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Leavenworth 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 Bell [Leavenworth County].
- Washington 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 Bell [Washington County].
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Presque Isle County
- This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Bell [Presque Isle County].
- Washtenaw 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 Michigan community of Bell [Washtenaw County].
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Columbiana County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Columbiana County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbiana County community of Bell.
- Highland 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 Ohio community of Bell [Highland County].
- Oklahoma
- Adair County
- This Bell is located in Adair County and lies 433 miles [696.8 km]<1> to the south of the Bell that is located in Crawford County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adair County community of Bell.
- Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma community of Bell [Oklahoma County].
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bell ...
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.
- Allen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest) - Charter Oak
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Charter Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Oak
- Charter Oak is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Charter Oak <5>
- Defiance
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast) - Irwin
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irwin have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
- Irwin is located in Shelby County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 308 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <5>
- Moorhead
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moorhead have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorhead
- Moorhead is located in Monona County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 202 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moorhead <5>
- Panama
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panama have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panama
- Panama is located in Shelby County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Panama <5>
- Ricketts
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north) - Soldier
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldier
- Soldier is located in Monona County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Soldier <5>
- Vail
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vail have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vail
- Vail is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 413 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vail <5>
How Far From Bell 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 Bell to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bell and extending to:
- Denison, which is the Seat of Crawford County, lies just to the East Northeast.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 99 miles [159.3 km]<1> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Bell to Des Moines, with an average speed<6>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 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 990 miles [1,593.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 57 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,453 miles [10,385.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,206 miles [11,596.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,108 miles [8,220.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bell. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Crawford County: www.crawfordcounty.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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bell) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9572, Longitude: -95.4958 In this case, the coordinates for Bell 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Bell 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> | 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 Bell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Bell 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 319.807 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.494 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.552 degrees. |