Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Tracy, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Tracy and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Tracy
- 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 Tracy:
- 41.276390, -92.875477
- 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 Tracy
- 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 Marion County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Marion County
- Since Tracy is near Mahaska County and also Monroe County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Mahaska County
- eBird sighting report for Monroe 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 Tracy ...
We found 23 communities that share the name Tracy.
Within Iowa, the name Tracy is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another 23 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 23 communities, 22 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Connecticut
- Illinois
- Cook County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Illinois community of Tracy [Cook County].
- Kankakee County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Illinois community of Tracy [Kankakee County].
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Platte County
- This Tracy is located in Platte County and lies 165 miles [265.5 km]<1> to the southwest of the Tracy that is located in Marion County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Platte County community of Tracy.
- Saint Clair County
- This Tracy is located in Saint Clair County and lies 231 miles [371.8 km] to the south of the Tracy that is located in Marion County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Clair County community of Tracy.
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Brunswick
- This Tracy lies 1,340 miles [2,156.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Tracy that is located in Marion County.
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Seminole County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Oklahoma community of Tracy [Seminole County].
- Texas County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Oklahoma community of Tracy [Texas County].
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
Curious and Interesting Names Near Tracy ...
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
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bluff Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Creek
- Bluff Creek is located in Monroe County
- Bolton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Cricket
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Evans
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Evans is located in Mahaska County
- Fishville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Harvey
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Indiana
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indiana
- Indiana is located in Marion County
- Marysville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysville
- Marysville is located in Marion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
How Far From Tracy to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Tracy to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Tracy and extending to:
- Knoxville, which is the Seat of Marion County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Tracy to Knoxville, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 44 miles [70.8 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 851 miles [1,369.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 34 days and walking would take 49 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,400 miles [10,299.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,146 miles [11,500.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,039 miles [8,109.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Tracy. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Tracy) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Tracy. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.2764, Longitude: -92.8755 In this case, the coordinates for Tracy have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Tracy 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> | 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 Tracy, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Tracy to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.963 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.285 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.35 degrees. |