Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rathbun, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rathbun and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rathbun
- 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 Rathbun:
- 40.801671, -92.887173
- 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 Rathbun
- 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 Appanoose County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Appanoose County
- Since Rathbun is near Monroe County and also Wayne County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Monroe County
- eBird sighting report for Wayne 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 Rathbun ...
We found two communities that share the name Rathbun.
Within Iowa, the name Rathbun is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Pennsylvania
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rathbun ...
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.
- Brazil
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazil
- Brazil is located in Appanoose County
- Centerville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Appanoose County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,414 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centerville <4>
- Diamond
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Maine
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Martinstown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martinstown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinstown
- Martinstown is located in Appanoose County
- Mystic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Sunshine
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
- Sunshine is located in Appanoose County
- Thirty
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Walnut City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut City
- Walnut City is located in Appanoose County
How Far From Rathbun 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 Rathbun to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rathbun and extending to:
- Centerville, which is the Seat of Appanoose County, lies just to the South.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 66 miles [106.2 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could walk a straight line from Rathbun to Des Moines, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 849 miles [1,366.3 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 34 days and walking would take 49 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,424 miles [10,338.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,170 miles [11,539 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,061 miles [8,144.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rathbun. 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rathbun) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rathbun. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.8017, Longitude: -92.8872 In this case, the coordinates for Rathbun have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Rathbun 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. |
| <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 Rathbun 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 317.955 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.213 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.464 degrees. |