Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Calamus, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Calamus and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Calamus
- 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 Calamus:
- 41.826584, -90.760044
- 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 Calamus
- 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 Clinton County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Clinton County
- Since Calamus is near Scott County and also Cedar County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Scott County
- eBird sighting report for Cedar 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Calamus ...
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 Rock
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- Big Rock is located in Scott County
- Grand Mound
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Mound have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Mound
- Grand Mound is located in Clinton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand Mound <2>
- Hickory Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Hickory Grove is located in Scott County
- Long Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Grove
- Long Grove is located in Scott County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 870 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Long Grove <2>
- Lost Nation
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lost Nation have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Nation
- Lost Nation is located in Clinton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 403 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lost Nation <2>
- Maysville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south) - Plainview
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south) - Wheatland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
How Far From Calamus 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 Calamus to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Calamus and extending to:
- Clinton, which is the Seat of Clinton County, lies 29 miles [46.7 km]<3> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Calamus to Clinton, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 148 miles [238.2 km] to the west (W). 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 748 miles [1,203.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 43 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,297 miles [10,134 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,042 miles [11,333 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,931 miles [7,935.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Calamus. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Clinton County: www.clintoncountyiowa.com/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Calamus) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Calamus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.8266, Longitude: -90.7600 In this case, the coordinates for Calamus have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Calamus 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 316.533 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.72 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.145 degrees. |