Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Murray, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Murray and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Murray
- 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 Murray:
- 41.041469, -93.949071
- 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 Murray
- 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 Clarke County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Clarke County
- Since Murray is near Union County and also Madison County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Union County
- eBird sighting report for Madison 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 Murray ...
We found 28 communities that share the name Murray.
Within Iowa, the name Murray is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another 28 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 28 communities, 27 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- California
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Davies's County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Indiana community of Murray [Davies's County].
- Wells County
- This Murray is located in Wells County and lies 456 miles [733.9 km]<1> to the east of the Murray that is located in Clarke County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wells County community of Murray.
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Michigan
- Mackinac County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Murray [Mackinac County].
- Sanilac County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Murray [Sanilac County].
- Minnesota
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Dakota
- Nova Scotia
- This Murray lies 1,691 miles [2,721.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Murray that is located in Clarke County.
- Pennsylvania
- Clearfield County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Murray [Clearfield County].
- Lebanon County
- This Murray is located in Lebanon County and lies 910 miles [1,464.5 km]<1> to the east of the Murray that is located in Clarke County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lebanon County community of Murray.
- Sullivan County
- This Murray is located in Sullivan County and lies 912 miles [1,467.7 km] to the east of the Murray that is located in Clarke County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sullivan County community of Murray.
- South Carolina
- Abbeville County
- This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the South Carolina community of Murray [Abbeville County].
- Lexington County
- This Murray is located in Lexington County and lies 841 miles [1,353.5 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Murray that is located in Clarke County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lexington County community of Murray.
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Utah
- Washington
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Murray ...
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.
- Barney
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
- Barney is located in Madison County
- Buffalo
(18 miles [29 km] to the north) - Grand River
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- 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
- Groveland ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Hopeville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Leslie
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast) - Liberty
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Liberty is located in Clarke County
- Macksburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macksburg
- Macksburg is located in Madison County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
- Old Peru
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Tingley
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- 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 <5>
How Far From Murray 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 Murray to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Murray and extending to:
- Osceola, which is the Seat of Clarke County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Murray to Osceola, with an average speed<6> 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 41 miles [66 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 905 miles [1,456.5 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 36 days and walking would take 52 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,449 miles [10,378.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,197 miles [11,582.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,091 miles [8,193.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Murray. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Clarke County: www.clarkecountyia.org/
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Murray) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Murray. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.0415, Longitude: -93.9491 In this case, the coordinates for Murray have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 Murray 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> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Murray, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Murray to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.694 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.094 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.949 degrees. |