Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Washburn, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Washburn and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Washburn
- 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 Washburn:
- 42.411656, -92.267406
- 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 Washburn
- 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 Black Hawk County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Black Hawk County
- Since Washburn is near Tama County and also Buchanan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Tama County
- eBird sighting report for Buchanan 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 Washburn ...
We found eighteen communities that share the name Washburn.
Within Iowa, the name Washburn is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another eighteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eighteen communities, seventeen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Bourbon 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 Kansas community of Washburn [Bourbon County].
- Wichita 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 Kansas community of Washburn [Wichita County].
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- New York
- North Carolina
- Cleveland County
- This Washburn is located in Cleveland County and lies 751 miles [1,208.6 km]<1> to the southeast of the Washburn that is located in Black Hawk County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cleveland County community of Washburn.
- Rutherford County
- This Washburn is located in Rutherford County and lies 740 miles [1,190.9 km] to the southeast of the Washburn that is located in Black Hawk County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rutherford County community of Washburn.
- North Dakota
- Ontario
- This Washburn lies 810 miles [1,303.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Washburn that is located in Black Hawk County.
- Tennessee
- Texas
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Washburn ...
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.
- Big Rock
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Blessing
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blessing
- Blessing is located in Black Hawk County
- Castle Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castle Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Hill
- Castle Hill is located in Black Hawk County
- Edwards ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
- Edwards is located in Black Hawk County
- Gilbertville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- 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
- Hilltop
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Louise
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Orange
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Raymond
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
- Raymond is located in Black Hawk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 788 people
- Shady Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- 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
How Far From Washburn 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 Washburn to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Washburn and extending to:
- Waterloo, which is the Seat of Black Hawk County, lies just to the North Northwest.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 89 miles [143.2 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Washburn to Des Moines, with an average speed<4>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 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 832 miles [1,339 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 48 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,321 miles [10,172.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,069 miles [11,376.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,964 miles [7,988.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Washburn. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Black Hawk County: www.co.black-hawk.ia.us/
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 from Point A (ie- Washburn) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Washburn. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4117, Longitude: -92.2674 In this case, the coordinates for Washburn 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 Washburn 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 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 Washburn 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 317.573 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.99 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.768 degrees. |