Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Whittier, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Whittier and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Whittier
- 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 Whittier:
- 42.094721, -91.462670
- 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 Whittier
- 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 Linn County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Linn County
- Since Whittier is near Jones County and also Delaware County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jones County
- eBird sighting report for Delaware 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 Whittier ...
We found nine communities that share the name Whittier.
Within Iowa, the name Whittier is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another nine communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alaska
- This Whittier lies 2,667 miles [4,292.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Whittier that is located in Linn County.
- California
- Florida
- Maryland
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Washington
- Alaska
Curious and Interesting Names Near Whittier ...
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.
- Hiawatha
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hiawatha have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiawatha
- Hiawatha is located in Linn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,466 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hiawatha <4>
- Jordans Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jordans Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordans Grove
- Jordans Grove is located in Linn County
- Lisbon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lisbon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Lisbon is located in Linn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,252 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lisbon <4>
- Marion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Marion is located in Linn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40,780 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <4>
- Paris ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest) - Prairieburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairieburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieburg
- Prairieburg is located in Linn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 190 people
- Robins
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west) - Rogers
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest) - Stone City
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone City
- Stone City is located in Jones County
How Far From Whittier 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 Whittier to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Whittier and extending to:
- Cedar Rapids, which is the Seat of Linn County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Whittier to Cedar Rapids, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours 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 116 miles [186.7 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 787 miles [1,266.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 31 days and walking would take 45 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,309 miles [10,153.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,055 miles [11,353.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,947 miles [7,961.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Whittier. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Linn County: www.co.linn.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- Whittier) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Whittier. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.0947, Longitude: -91.4627 In this case, the coordinates for Whittier 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Whittier 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 Whittier 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 317.016 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.309 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.434 degrees. |