Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in South Switch Junction, we use the following websites to find information relevant to South Switch Junction and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for South Switch Junction
- 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 South Switch Junction:
- 42.471393, -90.650128
- 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 South Switch Junction
- 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 Dubuque County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Dubuque County
- Since South Switch Junction is near Jo Daviess County and also Grant County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jo Daviess County
- eBird sighting report for Grant 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 South Switch Junction ...
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.
- Cathedral Square
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cathedral Square have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cathedral Square
- Cathedral Square is located in Dubuque County
- Eagle Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point
- Eagle Point is located in Dubuque County
- Fair Play
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - King
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Lore
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Louisburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Prairie Corners
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Corners
- Prairie Corners is located in Grant County (WI)
- Rockdale
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Rockdale is located in Dubuque County
- Rose
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Sageville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Sandy Hook
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy Hook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Hook
- Sandy Hook is located in Grant County (WI)
How Far From South Switch Junction to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as South Switch Junction to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in South Switch Junction and extending to:
- Dubuque, which is the Seat of Dubuque County, lies just to the North Northwest.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 163 miles [262.3 km]<2> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could drive a straight line from South Switch Junction to Des Moines, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 753 miles [1,211.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 43 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,261 miles [10,076.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,007 miles [11,276.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,898 miles [7,882.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for South Switch Junction. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Dubuque County: www.dubuquecounty.org/
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> | 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 from Point A (ie- South Switch Junction) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in South Switch Junction. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4714, Longitude: -90.6501 In this case, the coordinates for South Switch Junction have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 South Switch Junction to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.466 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.731 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.921 degrees. |