Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Benson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Benson and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Benson
- 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 Benson:
- 45.314775, -95.601699
- 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 Benson
- 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 Swift County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Swift County
- Since Benson is near Chippewa County and also Stevens County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Chippewa County
- eBird sighting report for Stevens 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 Benson ...
We found 28 communities that share the name Benson.
Within Minnesota, the name Benson is unique.
Beyond Minnesota, we know of another 28 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 28 communities, 27 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Chilton 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 Benson [Chilton County].
- Etowah County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Benson [Etowah County].
- Tallapoosa County
- This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Benson [Tallapoosa County].
- Arizona
- Florida
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Harford County
- This Benson is located in Harford County and lies 1,055 miles [1,697.9 km]<3> to the east southeast of the Benson that is located in Swift County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harford County community of Benson.
- Howard County
- This Benson is located in Howard County and lies 1,036 miles [1,667.3 km] to the east southeast of the Benson that is located in Swift County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Howard County community of Benson.
- Michigan
- Oakland 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 Benson [Oakland County].
- Wexford County
- This Benson is located in Wexford County and lies 500 miles [804.7 km]<3> to the east of the Benson that is located in Swift County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wexford County community of Benson.
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Pennsylvania
- Saskatchewan
- This Benson lies 449 miles [722.6 km]<3> to the northwest of the Benson that is located in Swift County.
- South Carolina
- Utah
- Vermont
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Benson ...
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.
- Alberta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
- Alberta is located in Stevens County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
- Artichoke
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west) - Clara City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clara City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clara City
- Clara City is located in Chippewa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,273 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clara City <5>
- Grove Lake
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Lake
- Grove Lake is located in Pope County
- Long Beach
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Beach
- Long Beach is located in Pope County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 417 people
- Louisburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west) - Raymond
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raymond have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
- Raymond is located in Kandiyohi County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Raymond <5>
- Starbuck
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starbuck
- Starbuck is located in Pope County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,267 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Starbuck <5>
- Swift Falls
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swift Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift Falls
- Swift Falls is located in Swift County
- Terrace
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Benson 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 Benson to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Benson and extending to:
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 124 miles [199.6 km]<3> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Benson to Saint Paul, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,045 miles [1,681.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving 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 6,279 miles [10,105.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,038 miles [11,326.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,956 miles [7,975.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Benson: www.bensonmn.org/
The official website for Swift County: www.swiftcounty.com/
The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.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 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 Benson 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> | 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 Benson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Benson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Benson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.3148, Longitude: -95.6017 |
| <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 Benson 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 319.966 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.108 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.843 degrees. |