Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Last Chance, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Last Chance and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Last Chance
- 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 Last Chance:
- 40.956389, -93.553549
- 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 Last Chance
- 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 Last Chance is near Clarke County and also Decatur County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Clarke 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 Last Chance ...
We found ten communities that share the name Last Chance.
Within Iowa, the name Last Chance is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these ten communities, nine are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Placer County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Last Chance [Placer County].
- Colorado
- Washington County
- This Last Chance is located in Washington County and lies 534 miles [859.4 km]<2> to the west of the Last Chance that is located in Lucas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Last Chance.
- Idaho
- Fremont County
- This Last Chance is located in Fremont County and lies 934 miles [1,503.1 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Last Chance that is located in Lucas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fremont County community of Last Chance.
- Kansas
- Barber County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Last Chance [Barber County].
- Louisiana
- Saint Bernard Parish
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Louisiana community of Last Chance [Saint Bernard Parish].
- Missouri
- Barton County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Missouri community of Last Chance [Barton County].
- Montana
- Lewis and Clark County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Montana community of Last Chance [Lewis and Clark County].
- North Carolina
- Hyde County
- This Last Chance is located in Hyde County and lies 1,019 miles [1,639.9 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Last Chance that is located in Lucas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hyde County community of Last Chance.
- Oklahoma
- Okfuskee County
- This Last Chance is located in Okfuskee County and lies 402 miles [647 km]<2> to the south southwest of the Last Chance that is located in Lucas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Okfuskee County community of Last Chance.
- Yukon
- This Last Chance lies 2,404 miles [3,868.9 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Last Chance that is located in Lucas County.
- California
Curious and Interesting Names Near Last Chance ...
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.
- Derby
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Garden Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- 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
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west) - High Point
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- 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
- Jay
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north) - Le Roy
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Leslie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west) - Liberty
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Liberty is located in Clarke County
- Lucas
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Last Chance 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 community such as Last Chance to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Last Chance and extending to:
- Chariton, which is the Seat of Lucas County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Last Chance to Chariton, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 44 miles [70.8 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 884 miles [1,422.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 35 days and walking would take 51 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,440 miles [10,364.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,187 miles [11,566.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,080 miles [8,175.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Last Chance. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Last Chance, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | 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 from Point A (ie- Last Chance) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Last Chance. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.9564, Longitude: -93.5535 In this case, the coordinates for Last Chance have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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 Last Chance 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. |
| <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 Last Chance 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 318.418 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.766 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.766 degrees. |