Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Marathon, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Marathon and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Marathon
- 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 Marathon:
- 42.860497, -94.982215
- 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 Marathon
- 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 Buena Vista County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Buena Vista County
- Since Marathon is near Pocahontas County and also Clay County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Pocahontas County
- eBird sighting report for Clay 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 Marathon ...
We found eight communities that share the name Marathon.
Within Iowa, the name Marathon is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Louisiana
- Saint John the Baptist Parish
- This Marathon is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish and lies 916 miles [1,474.2 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Marathon that is located in Buena Vista County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint John the Baptist Parish community of Marathon.
- Mississippi
- New York
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Marathon lies 578 miles [930.2 km]<1> to the northeast of the Marathon that is located in Buena Vista County.
- Texas
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Marathon ...
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.
- Dickens
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
- Dickens is located in Clay County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Greenville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <4>
- Havelock
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Havelock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <4>
- Mallard
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mallard have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <4>
- Plover
(18 miles [29 km] to the east) - Pocahontas
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pocahontas have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <4>
- Rembrandt
(9 miles [14.5 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 <4>
- Storm Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Storm Lake
- Storm Lake is located in Buena Vista County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,438 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Storm Lake <4>
- Sulphur Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulphur Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 Marathon 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 city such as Marathon to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Marathon and extending to:
- Storm Lake, which is the Seat of Buena Vista County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Marathon to Storm Lake, 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 five to six hours.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 111 miles [178.6 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 973 miles [1,565.9 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 38 days and walking would take 56 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,389 miles [10,282.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,142 miles [11,493.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,047 miles [8,122.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Marathon. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Buena Vista County: www.co.buena-vista.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 from Point A (ie- Marathon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Marathon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8605, Longitude: -94.9822 |
| <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 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 Marathon 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'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 Marathon 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 319.476 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.23 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.084 degrees. |