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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in DeSoto, we use the following websites to find information relevant to DeSoto 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 DeSoto:
- 41.531616, -94.007717
- 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 DeSoto
- 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 Dallas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Dallas County
- Since DeSoto is near Madison County and also Polk County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Madison County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Polk 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 DeSoto
Communities Also Named DeSoto ...
We found two communities that are also named DeSoto.
Within Iowa, the name DeSoto is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Indiana
- Delaware County
- This DeSoto is located in Delaware County and lies 463 miles [745.1 km]<1> to the east of the DeSoto that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Delaware County community of DeSoto.
- Texas
- Dallas County
- This DeSoto is located in Dallas County and lies 636 miles [1,023.5 km]<1> to the south southwest of the DeSoto that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dallas County community of DeSoto.
Curious and Interesting Names Near DeSoto ...
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.
- Buffalo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Buffalo is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
- Churchville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Commerce
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Kennedy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Kennedy is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennedy
- Panther
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Quarry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Quarry is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quarry
- Redfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Rider
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rider is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rider
- Tileville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Tileville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tileville
- Valley Junction
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Valley Junction is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Junction
How Far From DeSoto to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as DeSoto to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in DeSoto and extending to:
- Adel, which is the Seat of Dallas County, lies just to the North.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could walk a straight line from DeSoto to Des Moines, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 911 miles [1,466.1 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of two days, a buggy would take 36 days and walking would take 52 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,425 miles [10,340 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,175 miles [11,547 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,071 miles [8,161 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- DeSoto) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 DeSoto 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 DeSoto. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.5316, Longitude: -94.0077 |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.753 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.226 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.871 degrees. |
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