Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Merle Junction, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Merle Junction and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Merle Junction

• 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 Merle Junction:
  • 40.781655, -94.592743
  • 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 Merle Junction

• 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 Taylor County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • eBird sighting report for Taylor County
  • Since Merle Junction is near Adams County and also Ringgold County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • eBird sighting report for Adams County
  • eBird sighting report for Ringgold 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 Merle Junction ...

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.

• Bushville
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bushville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushville
  • Bushville is located in Taylor County
• Corning
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corning
  • Corning is located in Adams County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,424 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corning <2>
• Diagonal
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diagonal
  • Diagonal is located in Ringgold County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 312 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Diagonal <2>
• Gravity
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravity
  • Gravity is located in Taylor County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
• Kent
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
  • Kent is located in Union County
• Marshall ‑ Historic
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marshall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
  • Marshall is located in Ringgold County
• Queen City ‑ Historic
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Queen City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen City
  • Queen City is located in Adams County
• Stringtown
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stringtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
  • Stringtown is located in Adams County

How Far From Merle Junction 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 Merle Junction to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Merle Junction and extending to:

• Bedford, which is the Seat of Taylor County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Merle Junction to Bedford, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
• Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 75 miles [120.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 938 miles [1,509.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 37 days and walking would take 54 days.
• The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,484 miles [10,435 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,233 miles [11,640.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,128 miles [8,252.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Merle Junction. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/