Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Iowa, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Iowa and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Iowa
- 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 Iowa:
- 30.239080, -93.013012
- 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 Iowa
- 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 parish-by-parish basis. We have selected Calcasieu Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Calcasieu Parish
- Since Iowa is near Jefferson Davis Parish and also Allen Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson Davis Parish
- eBird sighting report for Allen Parish
- 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 Iowa ...
We found one communities that share the name Iowa.
Within Louisiana, the name Iowa is unique.
Beyond Louisiana, there is another community also named Iowa in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Iowa ...
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.
- Bell City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bell City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell City
- Bell City is located in Calcasieu Parish
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bell City <3>
- Chalkley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Chloe
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Foremans Hall
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foremans Hall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foremans Hall
- Foremans Hall is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
- Harbor
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Hecker
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest) - Mallard Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mallard Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallard Junction
- Mallard Junction is located in Calcasieu Parish
- Woodlawn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Iowa 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 town such as Iowa to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Iowa and extending to:
- Lake Charles, which is the Seat of Calcasieu Parish, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Iowa to Lake Charles, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 111 miles [178.6 km] to the east (E). 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 1,084 miles [1,744.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 43 days and walking would take 62 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,968 miles [11,213.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,683 miles [12,364.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,559 miles [8,946.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Iowa. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Calcasieu Parish: www.cppj.net/
The official website for State of Louisiana: louisiana.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Iowa) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Iowa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.2391, Longitude: -93.0130 In this case, the coordinates for Iowa 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 Iowa 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 317.163 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.90 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.341 degrees. |