Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Mediapolis, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mediapolis and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Mediapolis
- 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 Mediapolis:
- 41.007929, -91.162803
- 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 Mediapolis
- 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 Mediapolis is near Louisa County and also Henry County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Louisa County
- eBird sighting report for Henry 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 Mediapolis ...
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
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverdale
- Beaverdale is located in Des Moines County
- Cairo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest) - Danville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest) - Dodgeville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- Dodgeville is located in Des Moines County
- Gulf Port
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Port
- Gulf Port is located in Henderson County (IL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
- Keithsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keithsburg
- Keithsburg is located in Mercer County (IL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keithsburg <2>
- Lone Tree
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast) - Marsh
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest) - Pleasant Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Pleasant Grove is located in Des Moines County
- Prairie Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
- Prairie Grove is located in Des Moines County
How Far From Mediapolis 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 Mediapolis to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Mediapolis and extending to:
- Burlington, which is the Seat of Des Moines County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<3> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Mediapolis to Burlington, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day 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 133 miles [214 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 760 miles [1,223.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 44 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,353 miles [10,224.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,096 miles [11,419.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,984 miles [8,021 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Mediapolis. 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> | 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Mediapolis) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mediapolis. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.0079, Longitude: -91.1628 |
| <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 Mediapolis 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 316.79 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.903 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.552 degrees. |