Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Mount Ayr, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mount Ayr and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Mount Ayr
- 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 Mount Ayr:
- 40.715761, -94.233128
- 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 Mount Ayr
- 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 Ringgold County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Ringgold County
- Since Mount Ayr is near Union County and also Decatur County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Union 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 Mount Ayr ...
We found two communities that share the name Mount Ayr.
Within Iowa, the name Mount Ayr is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Indiana
- Kansas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Mount Ayr ...
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.
- Diagonal
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- 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 <3>
- Eagleville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagleville
- Eagleville is located in Harrison County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagleville <3>
- Grand River
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand River have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand River
- Grand River is located in Decatur County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
- Hopeville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast) - Kent
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Kent is located in Union County
- Lee ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast) - Marshall ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Merle Junction
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merle Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merle Junction
- Merle Junction is located in Taylor County
- Tingley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tingley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tingley
- Tingley is located in Ringgold County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tingley <3>
How Far From Mount Ayr to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Mount Ayr to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Mount Ayr and extending to:
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 68 miles [109.4 km]<1> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could walk a straight line from Mount Ayr to Des Moines, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 919 miles [1,479 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of two days, a buggy would take 36 days and walking would take 53 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,475 miles [10,420.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,224 miles [11,625.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,117 miles [8,235 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Mount Ayr. 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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Mount Ayr) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mount Ayr. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.7158, Longitude: -94.2331 |
| <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 Mount Ayr 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Mount Ayr 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 318.876 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.262 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.163 degrees. |