Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Elm Spring, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Elm Spring and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Elm Spring
- 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 Elm Spring:
- 43.310536, -96.491428
- 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 Elm Spring
- 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 Sioux County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Sioux County
- Since Elm Spring is near Lyon County and also Lincoln County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lyon County
- eBird sighting report for Lincoln 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Elm Spring ...
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.
- Bruce
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north) - Granite
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Harrisburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrisburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
- Harrisburg is located in Lincoln County (SD)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,126 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harrisburg <2>
- Hills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills
- Hills is located in Rock County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 647 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hills <2>
- Lester
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast) - Moe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moe
- Moe is located in Lincoln County (SD)
- Rock Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Valley
- Rock Valley is located in Sioux County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,901 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rock Valley <2>
- Split Rock Heights
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Split Rock Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Split Rock Heights
- Split Rock Heights is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
- Estimated population in 2014: 216 people
How Far From Elm Spring 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 community such as Elm Spring to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Elm Spring and extending to:
- Orange City, which is the Seat of Sioux County, lies 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Elm Spring to Orange City, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 188 miles [302.6 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,054 miles [1,696.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 42 days and walking would take 60 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,414 miles [10,322.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,170 miles [11,539 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,082 miles [8,178.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Elm Spring. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Sioux County: www.siouxcounty.org/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- Elm Spring) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Elm Spring. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.3105, Longitude: -96.4914 In this case, the coordinates for Elm Spring have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Elm Spring to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.561 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.533 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.793 degrees. |