Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Palestine, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Palestine and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Palestine
- 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 Palestine:
- 40.694476, -91.794056
- 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 Palestine
- 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 Van Buren County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Van Buren County
- Since Palestine is near Lee County and also Clark County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lee County
- eBird sighting report for Clark 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 Palestine ...
We found 34 communities that share the name Palestine.
Within Iowa, the name Palestine is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another 34 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 34 communities, 33 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Cleburne County
- This Palestine is located in Cleburne County and lies 581 miles [935 km]<1> to the southeast of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cleburne County community of Palestine.
- Lauderdale County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Palestine [Lauderdale County].
- Arkansas
- Randolph County
- This Palestine is located in Randolph County and lies 297 miles [478 km]<1> to the south of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Randolph County community of Palestine.
- Saint Francis County
- This Palestine is located in Saint Francis County and lies 398 miles [640.5 km] to the south of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Francis County community of Palestine.
- Connecticut
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Franklin County
- This Palestine is located in Franklin County and lies 373 miles [600.3 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Palestine.
- Kosciusko County
- This Palestine is located in Kosciusko County and lies 306 miles [492.5 km] to the east of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kosciusko County community of Palestine.
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Clay County
- This Palestine is located in Clay County and lies 507 miles [815.9 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clay County community of Palestine.
- Hinds County
- This Palestine is located in Hinds County and lies 592 miles [952.7 km] to the south of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hinds County community of Palestine.
- Pearl River County
- This Palestine is located in Pearl River County and lies 711 miles [1,144.2 km] to the south of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pearl River County community of Palestine.
- Yalobusha County
- This Palestine is located in Yalobusha County and lies 465 miles [748.3 km] to the south southeast of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Yalobusha County community of Palestine.
- Nebraska
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Adams County
- This community is historic<2> and although located in Adams County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Palestine.
- Darke County
- This Palestine is located in Darke County and lies 373 miles [600.3 km]<1> to the east of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Darke County community of Palestine.
- Pickaway County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Palestine [Pickaway County].
- Ontario
- Oregon
- Benton County
- This Palestine is located in Benton County and lies 1,605 miles [2,583 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Benton County community of Palestine.
- Multnomah County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Oregon community of Palestine [Multnomah County].
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Chester County
- This Palestine is located in Chester County and lies 407 miles [655 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chester County community of Palestine.
- Henderson County
- This Palestine is located in Henderson County and lies 396 miles [637.3 km] to the south southeast of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Henderson County community of Palestine.
- Henry County
- This Palestine is located in Henry County and lies 356 miles [572.9 km] to the south southeast of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Henry County community of Palestine.
- Lewis County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Palestine [Lewis County].
- Robertson County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Palestine [Robertson County].
- Texas
- Anderson County
- This Palestine is located in Anderson County and lies 653 miles [1,050.9 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anderson County community of Palestine.
- Hopkins County
- This Palestine is located in Hopkins County and lies 570 miles [917.3 km] to the south southwest of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hopkins County community of Palestine.
- Polk County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Palestine [Polk County].
- West Virginia
- Greenbrier County
- This Palestine is located in Greenbrier County and lies 630 miles [1,013.9 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greenbrier County community of Palestine.
- Wirt County
- This Palestine is located in Wirt County and lies 562 miles [904.5 km] to the east of the Palestine that is located in Van Buren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wirt County community of Palestine.
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Palestine ...
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 Mound
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Mound
- Big Mound is located in Lee County
- Bonaparte
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bonaparte have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonaparte
- Bonaparte is located in Van Buren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 405 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bonaparte <5>
- Franklin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Franklin is located in Lee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Harrisburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrisburg have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
- Harrisburg is located in Van Buren County
- Parksville ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parksville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parksville
- Parksville is located in Van Buren County
- Peaksville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Peaksville is located in Clark County (MO)
- Pierceville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierceville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierceville
- Pierceville is located in Van Buren County
- Pilot Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
- Pilot Grove is located in Lee County
- Pleasant Hill ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in Van Buren County
- Plymouth
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
How Far From Palestine 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 Palestine 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 Palestine once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Palestine and extending to:
- Keosauqua, which is the Seat of Van Buren County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Palestine to Keosauqua, with an average speed<6> 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 113 miles [181.9 km] to the northwest (NW). 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 791 miles [1,273 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 31 days and walking would take 45 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,391 miles [10,285.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,135 miles [11,482.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,023 miles [8,083.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
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 from Point A (ie- Palestine) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Palestine. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.6945, Longitude: -91.7941 In this case, the coordinates for Palestine 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 Palestine, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Palestine could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Palestine to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.208 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.34 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.942 degrees. |