Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Derby, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Derby and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Derby
- 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 Derby:
- 40.930290, -93.456526
- 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 Derby
- 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 Lucas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lucas County
- Since Derby is near Wayne County and also Decatur County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Wayne County
- eBird sighting report for Decatur 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 Derby ...
We found 28 communities that share the name Derby.
Within Iowa, the name Derby is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another 28 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 28 communities, 26 are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Colorado
- Adams County
- This Derby is located in Adams County and lies 607 miles [976.9 km]<1> to the west of the Derby that is located in Lucas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Derby.
- Arapahoe 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 Colorado community of Derby [Arapahoe County].
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Ford County
- This Derby is located in Ford County and lies 264 miles [424.9 km]<1> to the east of the Derby that is located in Lucas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ford County community of Derby.
- Saline County
- This Derby is located in Saline County and lies 354 miles [569.7 km] to the southeast of the Derby that is located in Lucas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saline County community of Derby.
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Hancock 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 Mississippi community of Derby [Hancock County].
- Pearl River County
- This Derby is located in Pearl River County and lies 734 miles [1,181.3 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Derby that is located in Lucas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pearl River County community of Derby.
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Brunswick
- This Derby lies 1,434 miles [2,307.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Derby that is located in Lucas County.
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Prince Edward Island
- This Derby lies 1,501 miles [2,415.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Derby that is located in Lucas County.
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Prince George County
- This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Derby [Prince George County].
- Wise County
- This Derby is located in Wise County and lies 633 miles [1,018.7 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Derby that is located in Lucas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wise County community of Derby.
- Wyoming
Curious and Interesting Names Near Derby ...
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.
- Bethelhem
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast) - Big Spring ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Big Spring is located in Wayne County
- Confidence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confidence
- Confidence is located in Wayne County
- Garden Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Grove
- Garden Grove is located in Decatur County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Groveland ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west) - High Point
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for High Point have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
- High Point is located in Decatur County
- Hodge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south) - Jay
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest) - Last Chance
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Last Chance have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Last Chance
- Last Chance is located in Lucas County
- Le Roy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Leslie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west) - Liberty
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Liberty is located in Clarke County
- Lucas
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Zero
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
How Far From Derby 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 Derby to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Derby and extending to:
- Chariton, which is the Seat of Lucas County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Derby to Chariton, 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 46 miles [74 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 879 miles [1,414.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 35 days and walking would take 50 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,438 miles [10,361 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,185 miles [11,563.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,077 miles [8,170.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Derby. 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Derby) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Derby. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.9303, Longitude: -93.4565 In this case, the coordinates for Derby have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Derby 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> | 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 Derby, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Derby 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 318.35 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.685 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.723 degrees. |