Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ridotto, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ridotto and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ridotto
- 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 Ridotto:
- 42.829417, -94.676925
- 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 Ridotto
- 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 Pocahontas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Pocahontas County
- Since Ridotto is near Palo Alto County and also Humboldt County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Palo Alto County
- eBird sighting report for Humboldt 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 Ridotto ...
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.
- Havelock
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Havelock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havelock
- Havelock is located in Pocahontas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Havelock <2>
- Lizard ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast) - Mallard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mallard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallard
- Mallard is located in Palo Alto County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mallard <2>
- Marathon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marathon
- Marathon is located in Buena Vista County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Plover
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Pocahontas
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pocahontas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
- Pocahontas is located in Pocahontas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pocahontas <2>
- Rodman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodman
- Rodman is located in Palo Alto County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
- Rubens Siding
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rubens Siding have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubens Siding
- Rubens Siding is located in Pocahontas County
How Far From Ridotto 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 Ridotto to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Ridotto and extending to:
- Pocahontas, which is the Seat of Pocahontas County, lies just to the South.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 100 miles [160.9 km]<3> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Ridotto to Des Moines, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 958 miles [1,541.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 38 days and walking would take 55 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,380 miles [10,267.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,133 miles [11,479.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,037 miles [8,106.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ridotto. 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- Ridotto) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ridotto. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8294, Longitude: -94.6769 In this case, the coordinates for Ridotto have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Ridotto 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 319.26 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.979 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.929 degrees. |