Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Olin, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Olin and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Olin
- 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 Olin:
- 41.997619, -91.141726
- 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 Olin
- 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 Jones County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jones County
- Since Olin is near Cedar County and also Linn County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cedar County
- eBird sighting report for Linn 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 Olin ...
We found six communities that share the name Olin.
Within Iowa, the name Olin is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Olin ...
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.
- Amber
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
- Amber is located in Jones County
- Center Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Center Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Junction
- Center Junction is located in Jones County
- Estimated population in 2015: 111 people
- Clarence
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Clarence is located in Cedar County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarence <3>
- Edinburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Lisbon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lisbon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Lisbon is located in Linn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,252 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lisbon <3>
- Mechanicsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- Mechanicsville is located in Cedar County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,116 people
- Scotch Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotch Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotch Grove
- Scotch Grove is located in Jones County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scotch Grove <3>
- Stone City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone City
- Stone City is located in Jones County
- Wyoming
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wyoming have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
- Wyoming is located in Jones County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 517 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wyoming <3>
How Far From Olin 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 Olin to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Olin and extending to:
- Anamosa, which is the Seat of Jones County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Olin to Anamosa, with an average speed<4> 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 130 miles [209.2 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 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 770 miles [1,239.2 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 44 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,302 miles [10,142.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,048 miles [11,342.7 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 Olin. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Jones County: www.co.jones.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Olin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Olin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9976, Longitude: -91.1417 In this case, the coordinates for Olin 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 Olin 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 316.795 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.043 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.295 degrees. |