Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Tama, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Tama and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Tama
- 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 Tama:
- 41.967445, -92.576802
- 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 Tama
- 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 Tama County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Tama County
- Since Tama is near Poweshiek County and also Marshall County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Poweshiek County
- eBird sighting report for Marshall 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 Tama ...
We found four communities that share the name Tama.
Within Iowa, the name Tama is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Louisiana
- Ohio
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Tama ...
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.
- Dover
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast) - Green Mountain
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Mountain
- Green Mountain is located in Marshall County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Green Mountain
- From Tama to Green Mountain
- Haven
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Helena
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Long Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Point
- Long Point is located in Tama County
- Marshalltown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshalltown
- Marshalltown is located in Marshall County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,736 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marshalltown <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Marshalltown
- From Tama to Marshalltown
- Potter
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Quarry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west) - Redman ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
How Far From Tama 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 Tama to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Tama and extending to:
- Toledo, which is the Seat of Tama County, lies just to the North.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 59 miles [95 km]<2> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could walk a straight line from Tama to Des Moines, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three 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 842 miles [1,355.1 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 33 days and walking would take 48 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,354 miles [10,225.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,102 miles [11,429.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,996 miles [8,040.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Tama. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Tama County: www.tamacounty.org/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Tama, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Tama) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Tama. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9674, Longitude: -92.5768 |
| <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 Tama 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 317.777 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.164 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.035 degrees. |