Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Oelwein, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Oelwein and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Oelwein
- 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 Oelwein:
- 42.678559, -91.912636
- 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 Oelwein
- 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 Fayette County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Fayette County
- Since Oelwein is near Buchanan County and also Bremer County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Buchanan County
- eBird sighting report for Bremer 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 Oelwein ...
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.
- Aurora
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast) - Doris
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south) - Independence
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Independence is located in Buchanan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,203 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Independence <2>
- Klinger
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klinger
- Klinger is located in Bremer County
- Littleton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest) - Maryville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryville
- Maryville is located in Fayette County
- Miner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Otterville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otterville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
- Otterville is located in Buchanan County
- Stanley
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Wise
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
How Far From Oelwein 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 Oelwein to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Oelwein and extending to:
- West Union, which is the Seat of Fayette County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<3> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Oelwein to West Union, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 114 miles [183.5 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 819 miles [1,318.1 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 47 days.
- The shortest distance<5> 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).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,043 miles [11,334.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,938 miles [7,946.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Oelwein. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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- Oelwein) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oelwein. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.6786, Longitude: -91.9126 |
| <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 Oelwein 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 317.333 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.751 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.517 degrees. |