RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Jefferson County >> Collett >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Collett, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Collett and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Collett:
    • 40.906134, -91.977673
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Collett
  • 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 Jefferson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
    • Since Collett is near Van Buren County and also Wapello County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Van Buren County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wapello 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Collett

Communities Also Named Collett ...

We found one communities that are also named Collett.

Within Iowa, the name Collett is unique.

Beyond Iowa, there is another community also named Collett in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Indiana
      • Jay County
      • This Collett is located in Jay County and lies 367 miles [590.6 km]<1> to the east of the Collett that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jay County community of Collett.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Collett ...

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.

  • Business Corners ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Business Corners is located in Van Buren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Business Corners
  • Glasgow
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Glasgow is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
  • Harrisburg
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Harrisburg is located in Van Buren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
  • Libertyville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
  • Parksville ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Parksville is located in Van Buren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parksville
  • Pierceville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Pierceville is located in Van Buren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierceville
  • Pleasant Hill ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Hill is located in Van Buren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
  • White Elm
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • White Elm is located in Davis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Elm

How Far From Collett 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 Collett to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Collett and extending to:

  • Fairfield, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies just to the North.
  • Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 97 miles [156.1 km]<1> to the west northwest (WNW). If you could drive a straight line from Collett to Des Moines, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 802 miles [1,290.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 46 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,387 miles [10,278.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,131 miles [11,476.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,020 miles [8,078.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Collett) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Collett to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Collett. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.9061, Longitude: -91.9777       In this case, the coordinates for Collett have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.339 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.519 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.984 degrees.