Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Oran, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Oran and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Oran
- 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 Oran:
- 42.701372, -92.074620
- 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 Oran
- 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 Oran is near Bremer County and also Buchanan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Bremer County
- eBird sighting report for Buchanan 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 Oran ...
We found seven communities that share the name Oran.
Within Iowa, the name Oran is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Georgia
- Missouri
- New Mexico
- New York
- Ohio
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Oran ...
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
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest) - Edwards ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
- Edwards is located in Black Hawk County
- Glasgow ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest) - Klinger
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klinger
- Klinger is located in Bremer County
- Littleton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south) - Miner
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Otterville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otterville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
- Otterville is located in Buchanan County
- Spring Fountain
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Fountain have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Fountain
- Spring Fountain is located in Bremer County
- Stanley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east) - Tripoli
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tripoli have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tripoli
- Tripoli is located in Bremer County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,375 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tripoli <4>
- Wise
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
How Far From Oran to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Oran to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Oran and extending to:
- West Union, which is the Seat of Fayette County, lies 22 miles [35.4 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Oran to West Union, with an average speed<5> 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 most of a day.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 109 miles [175.4 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 827 miles [1,330.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 47 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,299 miles [10,137.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,048 miles [11,342.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,943 miles [7,955 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Oran. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Oran) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oran. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.7014, Longitude: -92.0746 In this case, the coordinates for Oran 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 Oran, 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 Oran 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 317.445 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.882 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.595 degrees. |