Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Noel, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Noel and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Noel
- 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 Noel:
- 41.750585, -90.592083
- 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 Noel
- 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 Scott County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Scott County
- Since Noel is near Clinton County and also Rock Island County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Clinton County
- eBird sighting report for Rock Island 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 Noel ...
We found eight communities that share the name Noel.
Within Iowa, the name Noel 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 ...
- Colorado
- Louisiana
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nova Scotia
- This Noel lies 1,359 miles [2,187.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Noel that is located in Scott County.
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Noel ...
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.
- Big Rock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- Big Rock is located in Scott County
- Grand Mound
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Mound have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Mound
- Grand Mound is located in Clinton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand Mound <4>
- Great Oaks
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Oaks
- Great Oaks is located in Scott County
- Green Acres
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Green Acres is located in Scott County
- Hickory Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Hickory Grove is located in Scott County
- Long Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Grove
- Long Grove is located in Scott County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 870 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Long Grove <4>
- Maysville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Mount Joy
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Plainview
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest) - Wheatland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Noel 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 community such as Noel to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Noel once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Noel and extending to:
- Davenport, which is the Seat of Scott County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Noel to Davenport, with an average speed<5> 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 156 miles [251.1 km] to the west (W). 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 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 739 miles [1,189.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 42 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,295 miles [10,130.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,039 miles [11,328.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,928 miles [7,930.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Scott County: www.scottcountyiowa.com/
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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Noel) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Noel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7506, Longitude: -90.5921 In this case, the coordinates for Noel have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Noel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Noel 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 316.418 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.578 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.08 degrees. |