Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Tower Station, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Tower Station and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Tower Station
- 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 Tower Station:
- 41.026951, -92.872975
- 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 Tower Station
- 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 Monroe County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Monroe County
- Since Tower Station is near Appanoose County and also Mahaska County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Appanoose County
- eBird sighting report for Mahaska 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 Tower Station ...
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.
- Bluff Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bluff Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Creek
- Bluff Creek is located in Monroe County
- Cricket
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Frederic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast) - Georgetown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Georgetown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Georgetown is located in Monroe County
- Hocking
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Lockman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Maine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south) - Marysville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysville
- Marysville is located in Marion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
- Pleasant Corner
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Corner
- Pleasant Corner is located in Monroe County
- Selection
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
How Far From Tower Station 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 Tower Station to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<2> community of Tower Station once stood, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Tower Station and extending to:
- Albia, which is the Seat of Monroe County, lies just to the East.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 55 miles [88.5 km]<3> to the northwest (NW). If you could walk a straight line from Tower Station to Des Moines, with an average speed<4> 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 over two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 849 miles [1,366.3 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 34 days and walking would take 49 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,412 miles [10,319.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,159 miles [11,521.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,050 miles [8,127.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
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> | 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 Tower Station, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Tower Station) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Tower Station. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.0270, Longitude: -92.8730 In this case, the coordinates for Tower Station 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 Tower Station 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 317.953 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.241 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.406 degrees. |