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.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for DeSoto
- 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.
- 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:
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Madison County
- 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named DeSoto ...
We found two communities that share the name DeSoto.
Within Iowa, the name DeSoto is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Indiana
- Texas
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) - Churchville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchville
- Churchville is located in Warren County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Churchville
- From DeSoto to Churchville
- Commerce
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Commerce. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce
- Commerce is located in Polk County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Commerce
- From DeSoto to Commerce
- Kennedy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Panther
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Panther. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
- Panther is located in Dallas County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Panther
- From DeSoto to Panther
- Quarry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Redfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redfield
- Redfield is located in Dallas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Redfield <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Redfield
- From DeSoto to Redfield
- Rider
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast) - Tileville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south) - Valley Junction
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Junction
- Valley Junction is located in Polk County
How Far From DeSoto to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs 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<5> 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<6> 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).<7>
- 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).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,071 miles [8,161 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for DeSoto. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Dallas County: www.co.dallas.ia.us/
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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- DeSoto) to Point B.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 |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 DeSoto 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 318.753 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.226 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.871 degrees. |