Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bluff Creek, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bluff Creek and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bluff Creek
- 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 Bluff Creek:
- 41.147227, -92.850198
- 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 Bluff Creek
- 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 Monroe County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Monroe County
- Since Bluff Creek is near Mahaska County and also Marion County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Mahaska County
- eBird sighting report for Marion 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 Bluff Creek ...
We found seven communities that share the name Bluff Creek.
Within Iowa, the name Bluff Creek is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seven communities, six are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Humboldt County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Bluff Creek [Humboldt County].
- Georgia
- Cherokee County
- This Bluff Creek is located in Cherokee County and lies 667 miles [1,073.4 km]<2> to the southeast of the Bluff Creek that is located in Monroe County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cherokee County community of Bluff Creek.
- Indiana
- Johnson County
- This Bluff Creek is located in Johnson County and lies 365 miles [587.4 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Bluff Creek that is located in Monroe County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Johnson County community of Bluff Creek.
- Kansas
- Harper County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Bluff Creek [Harper County].
- Louisiana
- East Feliciana Parish
- This Bluff Creek is located in East Feliciana Parish and lies 726 miles [1,168.4 km]<2> to the south of the Bluff Creek that is located in Monroe County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the East Feliciana Parish community of Bluff Creek.
- Manitoba
- This Bluff Creek lies 726 miles [1,168.4 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Bluff Creek that is located in Monroe County.
- Tennessee
- Smith County
- This Bluff Creek is located in Smith County and lies 503 miles [809.5 km]<2> to the southeast of the Bluff Creek that is located in Monroe County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Smith County community of Bluff Creek.
- California
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bluff Creek ...
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.
- Bolton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Cricket
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Frederic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast) - Georgetown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Georgetown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Georgetown is located in Monroe County
- Hocking
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south) - Indiana
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indiana
- Indiana is located in Marion County
- Lockman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Marysville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysville
- Marysville is located in Marion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
- Pleasant Corner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Corner
- Pleasant Corner is located in Monroe County
- Tower Station ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tower Station have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Station
- Tower Station is located in Monroe County
How Far From Bluff Creek 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 community such as Bluff Creek to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bluff Creek and extending to:
- Albia, which is the Seat of Monroe County, lies just to the South Southeast.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 50 miles [80.5 km]<2> to the northwest (NW). If you could walk a straight line from Bluff Creek to Des Moines, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 849 miles [1,366.3 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 34 days and walking would take 49 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,405 miles [10,307.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,152 miles [11,510 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,044 miles [8,117.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bluff Creek. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Bluff Creek 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. |
| <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- Bluff Creek) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bluff Creek. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.1472, Longitude: -92.8502 In this case, the coordinates for Bluff Creek have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Bluff Creek 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 317.942 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.244 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.367 degrees. |