Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Downing, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Downing and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Downing
- 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 Downing:
- 38.740283, -96.573893
- 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 Downing
- 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 Morris County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Morris County
- Since Downing is near Wabaunsee County and also Lyon County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Wabaunsee County
- eBird sighting report for Lyon 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 Downing ...
We found sixteen communities that share the name Downing.
There is one other community in Kansas which is also named Downing.
Beyond Kansas, we know of another fifteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In Kansas ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Escambia County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Downing [Escambia County].
- Montgomery County
- This Downing is located in Montgomery County and lies 748 miles [1,203.8 km]<2> to the southeast of the Downing that is located in Morris County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Downing.
- Colorado
- Florida
- Michigan
- Sanilac County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Downing [Sanilac County].
- Tuscola 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 Michigan community of Downing [Tuscola County].
- Missouri
- New York
- North Dakota
- Oregon
- Columbia County
- This Downing is located in Columbia County and lies 1,435 miles [2,309.4 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Downing that is located in Morris County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbia County community of Downing.
- Umatilla County
- This Downing is located in Umatilla County and lies 1,213 miles [1,952.1 km] to the west northwest of the Downing that is located in Morris County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Umatilla County community of Downing.
- Texas
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Downing ...
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.
- Allen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east) - Council Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council Grove
- Council Grove is located in Morris County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,100 people
- Council Grove has also been known as:
- Council
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Council Grove <5>
- Diamond Springs ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Diamond Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Springs
- Diamond Springs is located in Morris County
- Dwight
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwight
- Dwight is located in Morris County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 255 people
- Junction City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
- Junction City is located in Geary County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,862 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Junction City <5>
- Kansas Falls
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kansas Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kansas Falls
- Kansas Falls is located in Geary County
- Lost Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lost Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Springs
- Lost Springs is located in Marion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lost Springs <5>
- Rockland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south) - Shady Brook ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Brook
- Shady Brook is located in Dickinson County
- Skiddy ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest) - Strong City
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strong City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strong City
- Strong City is located in Chase County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 446 people
- Strong City has also been known as:
- Strong
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Strong City <5>
How Far From Downing to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Downing to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Downing once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Downing and extending to:
- Council Grove, which is the Seat of Morris County, lies just to the Southeast.
- Topeka, which is the State Capital of Kansas, lies 52 miles [83.7 km]<2> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could walk a straight line from Downing to Topeka, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,049 miles [1,688.2 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take over two days, a buggy would take 41 days and walking would take 60 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,660 miles [10,718.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,408 miles [11,922 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,301 miles [8,531.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Downing 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. |
| <2> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Downing) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Downing. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.7403, Longitude: -96.5739 In this case, the coordinates for Downing have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Downing, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Downing to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.381 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.75 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.716 degrees. |