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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ventura Heights, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ventura Heights and the surrounding area.
- 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 Ventura Heights:
- 43.117737, -93.474096
- 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 Ventura Heights
- 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 Cerro Gordo County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Cerro Gordo County
- Since Ventura Heights is near Hancock County and also Worth County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Hancock County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Worth 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 Ventura Heights
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ventura Heights ...
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.
- Clear Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Creamery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Creamery is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Fertile
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Forest City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Freeman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Freeman is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Hayfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Hayfield is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayfield
- Hayfield Junction
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hayfield Junction is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayfield Junction
- Mason City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Mason City Junction
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Mason City Junction is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason City Junction
- Registry Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Registry Park is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Registry Park
How Far From Ventura Heights 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 Ventura Heights to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Ventura Heights and extending to:
- Mason City, which is the Seat of Cerro Gordo County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<2> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Ventura Heights to Mason City, with an average speed<3> 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 105 miles [169 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 902 miles [1,451.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 36 days and walking would take 52 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,325 miles [10,179.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,077 miles [11,389.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,978 miles [8,011.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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 from Point A (ie- Ventura Heights) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Ventura Heights to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ventura Heights. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.1177, Longitude: -93.4741 In this case, the coordinates for Ventura Heights have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.424 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.058 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.225 degrees. |
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