RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Minnesota >> Traverse County >> Browns Valley >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Browns Valley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Browns Valley and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Browns Valley:
    • 45.594649, -96.832829
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Browns Valley
  • 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 Traverse County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Traverse County
    • Since Browns Valley is near Big Stone County and also Roberts County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Big Stone County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Roberts 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Browns Valley

Communities Also Named Browns Valley ...

We found four communities that are also named Browns Valley.

Within Minnesota, the name Browns Valley is unique.

Beyond Minnesota, we know of four communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Jackson County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Browns Valley [Jackson County].
    • California
      • Yuba County
      • This Browns Valley is located in Yuba County and lies 1,321 miles [2,125.9 km]<2> to the west of the Browns Valley that is located in Traverse County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Yuba County community of Browns Valley.
    • Indiana
      • Montgomery County
      • This Browns Valley is located in Montgomery County and lies 634 miles [1,020.3 km]<2> to the southeast of the Browns Valley that is located in Traverse County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Browns Valley.
    • Kentucky
      • Daviess County
      • This Browns Valley is located in Daviess County and lies 742 miles [1,194.1 km]<2> to the southeast of the Browns Valley that is located in Traverse County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Daviess County community of Browns Valley.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Browns Valley ...

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.

  • Barry
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Barry is located in Big Stone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barry
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
  • Big Stone Colony
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Big Stone Colony is located in Big Stone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Stone Colony
  • Bonanza Grove
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bonanza Grove is located in Big Stone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonanza Grove
  • Diamond
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Diamond is located in Roberts County (SD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond
  • Goodwill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Goodwill is located in Roberts County (SD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwill
    • Estimated population in 2014: 876 people
  • Hiawatha Beach
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hiawatha Beach is located in Roberts County (SD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiawatha Beach
  • Shady Beach
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Shady Beach is located in Roberts County (SD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Beach
  • Spring Grove
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Spring Grove is located in Roberts County (SD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
    • Estimated population in 2014: 125 people
  • Yankeetown
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Yankeetown is located in Big Stone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankeetown

How Far From Browns Valley to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Browns Valley to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Browns Valley and extending to:

  • Wheaton, which is the Seat of Traverse County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<2> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Browns Valley to Wheaton, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 186 miles [299.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,108 miles [1,783.2 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 44 days and walking would take 63 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,302 miles [10,142.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,062 miles [11,365.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,987 miles [8,025.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Browns Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>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- Browns Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Browns Valley to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Browns Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.5946, Longitude: -96.8328       In this case, the coordinates for Browns Valley have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.86 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 319.164 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.465 degrees.