Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rock Valley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rock Valley and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rock Valley
- 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 Rock Valley:
- 43.204193, -96.299096
- 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 Rock Valley
- 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 Sioux County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Sioux County
- Since Rock Valley is near Lyon County and also Lincoln County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lyon County
- eBird sighting report for Lincoln 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 Rock Valley ...
We found two communities that share the name Rock Valley.
Within Iowa, the name Rock Valley is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Massachusetts
- Hampden County
- This Rock Valley is located in Hampden County and lies 1,196 miles [1,924.8 km]<1> to the east of the Rock Valley that is located in Sioux County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hampden County community of Rock Valley.
- New York
- Delaware County
- This Rock Valley is located in Delaware County and lies 1,080 miles [1,738.1 km]<1> to the east of the Rock Valley that is located in Sioux County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Delaware County community of Rock Valley.
- Massachusetts
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rock Valley ...
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.
- Edna
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast) - Elm Spring
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elm Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Spring
- Elm Spring is located in Sioux County
- George
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for George have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for George
- George is located in Lyon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,029 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for George <3>
- Hull
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hull have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull
- Hull is located in Sioux County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,296 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hull <3>
- Lester
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north) - Moe
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moe
- Moe is located in Lincoln County (SD)
- Orange City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange City
- Orange City is located in Sioux County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,260 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orange City <3>
- Rock Rapids
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Rapids
- Rock Rapids is located in Lyon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,518 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rock Rapids <3>
How Far From Rock Valley 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 city such as Rock Valley to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rock Valley and extending to:
- Orange City, which is the Seat of Sioux County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rock Valley to Orange City, with an average speed<4> 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 five to six hours.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 176 miles [283.2 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,043 miles [1,678.5 km] to the east (E). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 41 days and walking would take 60 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,413 miles [10,320.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,169 miles [11,537.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,080 miles [8,175.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rock Valley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Sioux County: www.siouxcounty.org/
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- Rock Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rock Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.2042, Longitude: -96.2991 In this case, the coordinates for Rock Valley 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 Rock Valley 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 320.42 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.358 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.712 degrees. |