Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Norwalk, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Norwalk and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Norwalk
- 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 Norwalk:
- 41.489465, -93.683364
- 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 Norwalk
- 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 Polk County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Polk County
- Since Norwalk is near Warren County and also Dallas County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Warren County
- eBird sighting report for Dallas 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 Norwalk ...
We found eight communities that share the name Norwalk.
There is one other community in Iowa which is also named Norwalk.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In Iowa ...
- Warren County
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Norwalk.
- Warren County
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Ohio
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Norwalk ...
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.
- Carbondale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carbondale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbondale
- Carbondale is located in Polk County
- Churchville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchville
- Churchville is located in Warren County
- Commerce
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Greenbush
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Pleasant Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,025 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Hill <3>
- Rider
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest) - Rising Sun
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rising Sun have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
- Rising Sun is located in Polk County
- Scotch Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotch Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotch Ridge
- Scotch Ridge is located in Warren County
- Summerset
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Summerset Junction ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summerset Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerset Junction
- Summerset Junction is located in Warren County
- Valley Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Junction
- Valley Junction is located in Polk County
- Wick
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
How Far From Norwalk 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 city such as Norwalk to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Norwalk and extending to:
- Des Moines, which is the Seat of Polk County, lies just to the North Northeast.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies just to the north northeast (NNE).
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 894 miles [1,438.8 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Norwalk to White House, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 51 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 35 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,416 miles [10,325.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,165 miles [11,530.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,060 miles [8,143.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Norwalk: www.ci.norwalk.ia.us/
The official website for Polk County: www.co.polk.ia.us/
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- Norwalk) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Norwalk. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4895, Longitude: -93.6834 In this case, the coordinates for Norwalk have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Norwalk 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 318.527 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.961 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.714 degrees. |