Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Vista, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vista and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Vista
- 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 Vista:
- 42.413322, -91.987121
- 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 Vista
- 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 Buchanan County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Buchanan County
- Since Vista is near Black Hawk County and also Benton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Black Hawk County
- eBird sighting report for Benton 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 Vista ...
We found nineteen communities that share the name Vista.
Within Iowa, the name Vista is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another nineteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these nineteen communities, eighteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Florida
- Manitoba
- This Vista lies 701 miles [1,128.2 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Vista that is located in Buchanan County.
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- Flathead County
- This Vista is located in Flathead County and lies 1,158 miles [1,863.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Vista that is located in Buchanan County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Flathead County community of Vista.
- Lewis and Clark County
- This Vista is located in Lewis and Clark County and lies 1,008 miles [1,622.2 km] to the west northwest of the Vista that is located in Buchanan County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lewis and Clark County community of Vista.
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Utah
- Washington
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Vista ...
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.
- Doris
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast) - Gatesville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gatesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatesville
- Gatesville is located in Buchanan County
- Gilbertville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilbertville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
- Gilbertville is located in Black Hawk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 725 people
- Independence
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Independence is located in Buchanan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,203 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Independence <4>
- Littleton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Otterville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otterville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
- Otterville is located in Buchanan County
- Raymond
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
- Raymond is located in Black Hawk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 788 people
- Shady Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Shady Grove is located in Buchanan County
- Wise
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
How Far From Vista 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 Vista to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Vista and extending to:
- Independence, which is the Seat of Buchanan County, lies just to the Northeast.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 100 miles [160.9 km]<1> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could drive a straight line from Vista to Des Moines, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 818 miles [1,316.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 47 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,311 miles [10,156.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,059 miles [11,360.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,953 miles [7,971.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Vista. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Buchanan County: www.buchanancounty.com/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Vista) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vista. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4133, Longitude: -91.9871 In this case, the coordinates for Vista 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Vista 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> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Vista to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.381 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.769 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.623 degrees. |