Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Centralia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Centralia and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Centralia
- 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 Centralia:
- 42.472307, -90.836512
- 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 Centralia
- 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 Dubuque County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Dubuque County
- Since Centralia is near Jo Daviess County and also Grant County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jo Daviess County
- eBird sighting report for Grant 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 Centralia ...
We found sixteen communities that share the name Centralia.
Within Iowa, the name Centralia 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 ...
- California
- Florida
- Hernando County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Florida community of Centralia [Hernando County].
- Hillsborough County
- This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Florida community of Centralia [Hillsborough County].
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Cherokee County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Centralia [Cherokee County].
- Nemaha County
- This Centralia is located in Nemaha County and lies 334 miles [537.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Centralia that is located in Dubuque County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nemaha County community of Centralia.
- Missouri
- New York
- Oklahoma
- Ontario
- This Centralia lies 476 miles [766 km]<1> to the east of the Centralia that is located in Dubuque County.
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Centralia ...
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.
- Budd
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Cathedral Square
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cathedral Square have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cathedral Square
- Cathedral Square is located in Dubuque County
- Cottage Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottage Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hill
- Cottage Hill is located in Dubuque County
- Five Points
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Points have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Five Points is located in Dubuque County
- Kidder
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Lore
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Pleasant Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Pleasant Grove is located in Dubuque County
- Rockdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Rockdale is located in Dubuque County
- Sageville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Twin Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Springs
- Twin Springs is located in Dubuque County
How Far From Centralia 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 Centralia to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Centralia and extending to:
- Dubuque, which is the Seat of Dubuque County, lies just to the East Northeast.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 154 miles [247.8 km]<1> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could drive a straight line from Centralia to Des Moines, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 762 miles [1,226.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 44 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,268 miles [10,087.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,014 miles [11,287.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,905 miles [7,893.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Centralia. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Dubuque County: www.dubuquecounty.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Centralia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Centralia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4723, Longitude: -90.8365 In this case, the coordinates for Centralia have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Centralia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 Centralia 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. |
| <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 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 Centralia 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 316.593 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.877 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.016 degrees. |