Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Van Buren, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Van Buren and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Van Buren
- 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 Van Buren:
- 42.084425, -90.364718
- 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 Van Buren
- 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 Jackson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson County
- Since Van Buren is near Clinton County and also Jo Daviess County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Clinton County
- eBird sighting report for Jo Daviess 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 Van Buren ...
We found twenty communities that share the name Van Buren.
There is one other community in Iowa which is also named Van Buren.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another nineteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In Iowa ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Carter County
- This Van Buren is located in Carter County and lies 352 miles [566.5 km]<2> to the south of the Van Buren that is located in Jackson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carter County community of Van Buren.
- Osage County
- This community is historic<1> and although located in Osage County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Osage County community of Van Buren.
- New York
- Chautauqua County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New York community of Van Buren [Chautauqua County].
- Onondaga County
- This Van Buren is located in Onondaga County and lies 717 miles [1,153.9 km]<2> to the east of the Van Buren that is located in Jackson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Onondaga County community of Van Buren.
- Ohio
- Hancock County
- This Van Buren is located in Hancock County and lies 352 miles [566.5 km]<2> to the east of the Van Buren that is located in Jackson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hancock County community of Van Buren.
- Licking County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Van Buren [Licking County].
- Pennsylvania
- Armstrong County
- This Van Buren is located in Armstrong County and lies 562 miles [904.5 km]<2> to the east of the Van Buren that is located in Jackson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Armstrong County community of Van Buren.
- Washington County
- This Van Buren is located in Washington County and lies 541 miles [870.7 km] to the east southeast of the Van Buren that is located in Jackson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Van Buren.
- Tennessee
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Van Buren ...
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.
- Arnold
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Arnold is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Arnold
- From Van Buren to Arnold
- Blackhawk
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
- Blackhawk is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Blackhawk
- From Van Buren to Blackhawk
- Charlotte
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte
- Charlotte is located in Clinton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 360 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Charlotte <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Charlotte
- From Van Buren to Charlotte
- Goose Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goose Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Lake
- Goose Lake is located in Clinton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Green Island
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Island have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Island
- Green Island is located in Jackson County
- Marcus
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Marcus is located in Carroll County (IL)
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Marcus
- From Van Buren to Marcus
- Miles
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miles have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles
- Miles is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 430 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Miles <4>
- Pleasant Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Creek
- Pleasant Creek is located in Jackson County
- Rockaway ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest) - Springbrook
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springbrook
- Springbrook is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 140 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springbrook <4>
- Tenmile
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
- Tenmile is located in Clinton County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Tenmile
- From Van Buren to Tenmile
- Twin Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Springs
- Twin Springs is located in Jackson County
How Far From Van Buren 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 Van Buren to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Van Buren and extending to:
- Maquoketa, which is the Seat of Jackson County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<2> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Van Buren to Maquoketa, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 170 miles [273.6 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 732 miles [1,178 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 42 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,271 miles [10,092.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,015 miles [11,289.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,904 miles [7,892.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Van Buren. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Van Buren, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | 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 from Point A (ie- Van Buren) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Van Buren. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.0844, Longitude: -90.3647 |
| <3> | 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Van Buren 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <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 Van Buren 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 316.268 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.452 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.878 degrees. |