Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in West Bend, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Bend and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for West Bend
- 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 West Bend:
- 42.959941, -94.445675
- 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 West Bend
- 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 Palo Alto County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Palo Alto County
- Since West Bend is near Humboldt County and also Kossuth County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Humboldt County
- eBird sighting report for Kossuth 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 West Bend ...
We found six communities that share the name West Bend.
Within Iowa, the name West Bend is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these six communities, five are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Pennsylvania
- Saskatchewan
- This West Bend lies 730 miles [1,174.8 km]<1> to the north northwest of the West Bend that is located in Palo Alto County.
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near West Bend ...
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
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast) - Cylinder
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - Emmetsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emmetsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmetsburg
- Emmetsburg is located in Palo Alto County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,667 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emmetsburg <3>
- Fairville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Havelock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Havelock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havelock
- Havelock is located in Pocahontas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Havelock <3>
- Livermore
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast) - Mallard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mallard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallard
- Mallard is located in Palo Alto County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mallard <3>
- Plover
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Rodman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodman
- Rodman is located in Palo Alto County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
- Rubens Siding
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rubens Siding have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubens Siding
- Rubens Siding is located in Pocahontas County
- Rutland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutland
- Rutland is located in Humboldt County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
How Far From West Bend 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 West Bend to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in West Bend and extending to:
- Emmetsburg, which is the Seat of Palo Alto County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from West Bend to Emmetsburg, with an average speed<4> 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 103 miles [165.8 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 4 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 948 miles [1,525.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 37 days and walking would take 54 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,366 miles [10,245.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,119 miles [11,456.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,022 miles [8,082.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West Bend. 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Bend) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Bend. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.9599, Longitude: -94.4457 In this case, the coordinates for West Bend 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 West Bend 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 319.101 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.813 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.776 degrees. |