Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Thoten, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Thoten and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Thoten
- 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 Thoten:
- 43.309696, -91.639869
- 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 Thoten
- 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 Winneshiek County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Winneshiek County
- Since Thoten is near Allamakee County and also Houston County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Allamakee County
- eBird sighting report for Houston 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 Thoten ...
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.
- Canoe
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Church
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east) - Frankville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frankville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankville
- Frankville is located in Winneshiek County
- Freeport
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Highlandville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highlandville
- Highlandville is located in Winneshiek County
- Junction ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south) - Locust
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Mabel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
- Mabel is located in Fillmore County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mabel <2>
- Maud
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east) - Newhouse
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north) - Postville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Postville
- Postville is located in Allamakee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,033 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Postville <2>
- Springwater
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springwater have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwater
- Springwater is located in Winneshiek County
- Twin Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Springs
- Twin Springs is located in Winneshiek County
How Far From Thoten to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Thoten to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Thoten and extending to:
- Decorah, which is the Seat of Winneshiek County, lies just to the West.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 155 miles [249.4 km]<3> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Thoten to Des Moines, with an average speed<4>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 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 817 miles [1,314.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 47 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,253 miles [10,063.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,003 miles [11,270.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,899 miles [7,884.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Thoten. 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Thoten) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Thoten. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.3097, Longitude: -91.6399 In this case, the coordinates for Thoten 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 Thoten 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 317.152 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.629 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.212 degrees. |