Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Belle Plaine, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Belle Plaine and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Belle Plaine
- 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 Belle Plaine:
- 41.897111, -92.276626
- 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 Belle Plaine
- 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 Benton County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Benton County
- Since Belle Plaine is near Iowa County and also Tama County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Iowa County
- eBird sighting report for Tama 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 Belle Plaine ...
We found five communities that share the name Belle Plaine.
Within Iowa, the name Belle Plaine is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, four are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Kansas
- Sumner County
- This Belle Plaine is located in Sumner County and lies 409 miles [658.2 km]<1> to the southwest of the Belle Plaine that is located in Benton County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sumner County community of Belle Plaine.
- Minnesota
- Scott County
- This Belle Plaine is located in Scott County and lies 202 miles [325.1 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Belle Plaine that is located in Benton County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scott County community of Belle Plaine.
- North Dakota
- Sargent 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 North Dakota community of Belle Plaine [Sargent County].
- Saskatchewan
- This Belle Plaine lies 848 miles [1,364.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Belle Plaine that is located in Benton County.
- Wisconsin
- Shawano County
- This Belle Plaine is located in Shawano County and lies 265 miles [426.5 km]<1> to the northeast of the Belle Plaine that is located in Benton County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Shawano County community of Belle Plaine.
- Kansas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Belle Plaine ...
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.
- Dover
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Geneva
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast) - Guernsey
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guernsey have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guernsey
- Guernsey is located in Poweshiek County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guernsey <4>
- Haven
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west) - Helena
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west) - Keystone
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keystone have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
- Keystone is located in Benton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 615 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keystone <4>
- Long Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Point
- Long Point is located in Tama County
- Redman ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Rogersville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rogersville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
- Rogersville is located in Benton County
How Far From Belle Plaine to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Belle Plaine to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Belle Plaine and extending to:
- Vinton, which is the Seat of Benton County, lies 22 miles [35.4 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Belle Plaine to Vinton, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 72 miles [115.9 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 4 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 826 miles [1,329.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 47 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,347 miles [10,214.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,094 miles [11,416.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,987 miles [8,025.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Belle Plaine: www.belleplaineiowa.us/
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' (or 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- Belle Plaine) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Belle Plaine. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.8971, Longitude: -92.2766 |
| <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 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 Belle Plaine 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'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 Belle Plaine 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 317.569 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.916 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.898 degrees. |