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.
  • Open 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:
  • Open the 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:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Allamakee County
  • Open the 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:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for Thoten

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)
  • Canoe is located in Winneshiek County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canoe
• Church
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Church is located in Allamakee County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Church
• Frankville
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Frankville is located in Winneshiek County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankville
• Freeport
  (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Freeport is located in Winneshiek County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
• Highlandville
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Highlandville is located in Winneshiek County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highlandville
• Junction ‑ Historic
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Junction is located in Winneshiek County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
• Locust
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Locust is located in Winneshiek County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust
• Mabel
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Mabel is located in Fillmore County (MN)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mabel <1>
• Maud
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Maud is located in Allamakee County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maud
• Newhouse
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Newhouse is located in Houston County (MN)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhouse
• Postville
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Postville is located in Allamakee County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Postville
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,033 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Postville <1>
• Springwater
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Springwater is located in Winneshiek County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwater
• Twin Springs
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Twin Springs is located in Winneshiek County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Springs

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<2> 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]<2> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Thoten 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 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<4> 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).<5>
• 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).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,899 miles [7,884.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'