Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Kemper, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Kemper and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Kemper
- 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 Kemper:
- 40.743929, -91.123479
- 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 Kemper
- 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 Des Moines County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Des Moines County
- Since Kemper is near Henderson County and also Lee County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Henderson County
- eBird sighting report for Lee 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 Kemper ...
We found four communities that share the name Kemper.
Within Iowa, the name Kemper is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Louisiana
- South Carolina
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Kemper ...
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.
- Beaverdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverdale
- Beaverdale is located in Des Moines County
- Gulf Port
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Port
- Gulf Port is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
- Heapsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heapsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heapsville
- Heapsville is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Hopper
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Iowa Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Junction
- Iowa Junction is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Lone Tree
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Silver Lake ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Silver Lake is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Skunk River
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skunk River have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skunk River
- Skunk River is located in Des Moines County
- Spring Grove
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
- Spring Grove is located in Des Moines County
- Yellow Banks
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yellow Banks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Banks
- Yellow Banks is located in Henderson County (IL)
How Far From Kemper 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 community such as Kemper to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Kemper and extending to:
- Burlington, which is the Seat of Des Moines County, lies just to the North.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 142 miles [228.5 km]<1> to the west northwest (WNW). If you could drive a straight line from Kemper to Des Moines, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 757 miles [1,218.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 43 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,365 miles [10,243.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,107 miles [11,437.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,994 miles [8,037.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Kemper. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Des Moines County: www.co.des-moines.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Kemper) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Kemper. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.7439, Longitude: -91.1235 In this case, the coordinates for Kemper 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 Kemper 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> | 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. |
| <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 Kemper 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 316.757 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.829 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.597 degrees. |