Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Laurens, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Laurens and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Laurens
- 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 Laurens:
- 42.847747, -94.848295
- 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 Laurens
- 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 Pocahontas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Pocahontas County
- Since Laurens is near Buena Vista County and also Palo Alto County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Buena Vista County
- eBird sighting report for Palo Alto 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 Laurens ...
We found two communities that share the name Laurens.
Within Iowa, the name Laurens is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- New York
- South Carolina
Curious and Interesting Names Near Laurens ...
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.
- Emmetsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emmetsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmetsburg
- Emmetsburg is located in Palo Alto County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,667 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emmetsburg <3>
- Greenville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Greenville is located in Clay County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville <3>
- Havelock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Havelock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havelock
- Havelock is located in Pocahontas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Havelock <3>
- Mallard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mallard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallard
- Mallard is located in Palo Alto County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mallard <3>
- Marathon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marathon
- Marathon is located in Buena Vista County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Plover
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east) - Pocahontas
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pocahontas have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
- Pocahontas is located in Pocahontas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pocahontas <3>
- Rembrandt
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rembrandt
- Rembrandt is located in Buena Vista County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rembrandt <3>
- Rodman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodman
- Rodman is located in Palo Alto County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
- Rubens Siding
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rubens Siding have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubens Siding
- Rubens Siding is located in Pocahontas County
- Sulphur Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulphur Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Sulphur Springs is located in Buena Vista County
How Far From Laurens 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 city such as Laurens to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Laurens and extending to:
- Pocahontas, which is the Seat of Pocahontas County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Laurens to Pocahontas, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 106 miles [170.6 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 967 miles [1,556.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 38 days and walking would take 55 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,385 miles [10,275.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,138 miles [11,487.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,042 miles [8,114.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Laurens. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
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 from Point A (ie- Laurens) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Laurens. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8477, Longitude: -94.8483 In this case, the coordinates for Laurens have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Laurens 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 319.382 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.12 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.016 degrees. |