Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Van Wert, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Van Wert and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Van Wert
- 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 Wert:
- 40.871078, -93.791762
- 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 Wert
- 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 Decatur County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Decatur County
- Since Van Wert is near Clarke County and also Lucas County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Clarke County
- eBird sighting report for Lucas 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 Wert ...
We found three communities that share the name Van Wert.
Within Iowa, the name Van Wert is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Van Wert ...
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.
- Garden Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Grove
- Garden Grove is located in Decatur County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Grand River
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand River
- Grand River is located in Decatur County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
- Groveland ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - High Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for High Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
- High Point is located in Decatur County
- Hopeville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest) - Last Chance
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Last Chance have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Last Chance
- Last Chance is located in Lucas County
- Le Roy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Leon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
- Leon is located in Decatur County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,808 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leon <3>
- Leslie
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
How Far From Van Wert 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 city such as Van Wert to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Van Wert and extending to:
- Leon, which is the Seat of Decatur County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Van Wert to Leon, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 50 miles [80.5 km] to the north (N). 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 most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 896 miles [1,442 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 35 days and walking would take 51 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,452 miles [10,383.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,200 miles [11,587.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,093 miles [8,196.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Van Wert. 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Van Wert) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Van Wert. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.8711, Longitude: -93.7918 In this case, the coordinates for Van Wert have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Van Wert 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 318.579 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.939 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.906 degrees. |