Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Tara, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Tara and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Tara
- 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 Tara:
- 42.499964, -94.295907
- 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 Tara
- 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 Webster County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Webster County
- Since Tara is near Calhoun County and also Humboldt County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Calhoun 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
Communities Also Named Tara ...
We found ten communities that share the name Tara.
Within Iowa, the name Tara is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these ten communities, nine are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Bibb County
- This Tara is located in Bibb County and lies 877 miles [1,411.4 km]<1> to the southeast of the Tara that is located in Webster County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bibb County community of Tara.
- Muscogee County
- This Tara is located in Muscogee County and lies 861 miles [1,385.6 km] to the southeast of the Tara that is located in Webster County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Muscogee County community of Tara.
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Anne Arundel County
- This Tara is located in Anne Arundel County and lies 954 miles [1,535.3 km]<1> to the east of the Tara that is located in Webster County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anne Arundel County community of Tara.
- Cecil County
- This Tara is located in Cecil County and lies 979 miles [1,575.5 km] to the east of the Tara that is located in Webster County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cecil County community of Tara.
- Missouri
- North Dakota
- Ontario
- This Tara lies 671 miles [1,079.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Tara that is located in Webster County.
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Tara ...
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.
- Badger
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Badger have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badger
- Badger is located in Webster County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 534 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Badger <4>
- Clare
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Coalville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
- Coalville is located in Webster County
- Jones Siding
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jones Siding have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Siding
- Jones Siding is located in Humboldt County
- Judd
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Moorland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moorland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorland
- Moorland is located in Webster County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moorland <4>
- Palm Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Grove
- Palm Grove is located in Webster County
- Pioneer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest) - Richard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest) - Shady Oak
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
How Far From Tara 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 Tara to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Tara and extending to:
- Fort Dodge, which is the Seat of Webster County, lies just to the East.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 71 miles [114.3 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Tara to Des Moines, with an average speed<5>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 4 days. 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 935 miles [1,504.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 37 days and walking would take 54 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,385 miles [10,275.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,137 miles [11,485.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,037 miles [8,106.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Tara. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Webster County: www.webstercountyia.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Tara) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Tara. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5000, Longitude: -94.2959 |
| <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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Tara 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 Tara 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 318.984 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.619 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.803 degrees. |