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:
- 43.402958, -91.911848
- 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 Winneshiek County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Winneshiek County
- Since Bluffton is near Fillmore County and also Howard County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Fillmore County
- eBird sighting report for Howard 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 Iowa, the name Bluffton is unique.
Beyond Iowa, 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 1,209 miles [1,945.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Bluffton that is located in Winneshiek County.
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Indiana
- 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 324 miles [521.4 km]<1> to the south of the Bluffton that is located in Winneshiek 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.
- Big Spring
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Big Spring is located in Fillmore County (MN)
- Canoe
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east) - Florenceville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florenceville
- Florenceville is located in Howard County
- Freeport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast) - Harmony
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harmony have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Harmony is located in Fillmore County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 982 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harmony <4>
- Henrytown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Highlandville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highlandville
- Highlandville is located in Winneshiek County
- Locust
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Mabel
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
- Mabel is located in Fillmore County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mabel <4>
- Newhouse
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast) - Prosper
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Spillville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spillville
- Spillville is located in Winneshiek County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spillville <4>
- Springwater
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springwater have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwater
- Springwater is located in Winneshiek County
How Far From Bluffton 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 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:
- Decorah, which is the Seat of Winneshiek County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Bluffton to Decorah, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 152 miles [244.6 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 832 miles [1,339 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 48 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,258 miles [10,071.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,008 miles [11,278.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,906 miles [7,895.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bluffton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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- 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: 43.4030, Longitude: -91.9118 |
| <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'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 Bluffton 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 317.34 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.858 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.33 degrees. |