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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative Quarter for Minnesota







Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Cotton:
    • 47.169380, -92.476300
    • 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 Cotton
  • 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 Saint Louis County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • eBird sighting report for Saint Louis County
    • Since Cotton is near Itasca County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
    • eBird sighting report for Itasca 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 Cotton ...

We found eight communities that share the name Cotton.

Within Minnesota, the name Cotton is unique.

Beyond Minnesota, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Elmore County
      • This Cotton is located in Elmore County and lies 1,056 miles [1,699.5 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Cotton that is located in Saint Louis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Elmore County community of Cotton.
    • Georgia
      • Mitchell County
      • This Cotton is located in Mitchell County and lies 1,191 miles [1,916.7 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Cotton that is located in Saint Louis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mitchell County community of Cotton.
    • Idaho
      • Bonneville County
      • This Cotton is located in Bonneville County and lies 984 miles [1,583.6 km]<1> to the west of the Cotton that is located in Saint Louis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bonneville County community of Cotton.
    • Michigan
      • Kalkaska County
      • This Cotton is located in Kalkaska County and lies 394 miles [634.1 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Cotton that is located in Saint Louis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kalkaska County community of Cotton.
    • South Carolina
      • York 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 South Carolina community of Cotton [York County].
    • Texas
      • Fannin County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Cotton [Fannin County].
      • Grimes County
      • This Cotton is located in Grimes County and lies 1,142 miles [1,837.9 km]<1> to the south of the Cotton that is located in Saint Louis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grimes County community of Cotton.
    • West Virginia
      • Roane County
      • This Cotton is located in Roane County and lies 818 miles [1,316.4 km]<1> to the southeast of the Cotton that is located in Saint Louis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roane County community of Cotton.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Cotton ...

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.

  • Birch
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Birch have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birch
    • Birch is located in Saint Louis County
  • Canyon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canyon have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
    • Canyon is located in Saint Louis County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canyon <5>
  • Central Lakes
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Lakes
    • Central Lakes is located in Saint Louis County
  • Cherry
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry
    • Cherry is located in Saint Louis County
  • Elmer
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmer have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmer
    • Elmer is located in Saint Louis County
  • Independence
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Independence have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
    • Independence is located in Saint Louis County
  • Iron Junction
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Junction
    • Iron Junction is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
  • Little Swan
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Swan have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Swan
    • Little Swan is located in Saint Louis County
  • Meadowlands
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadowlands have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowlands
    • Meadowlands is located in Saint Louis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
  • Spruce
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spruce have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce
    • Spruce is located in Saint Louis County
  • Twig
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twig have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twig
    • Twig is located in Saint Louis County

How Far From Cotton 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 community such as Cotton to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Duluth, which is the Seat of Saint Louis County, lies 31 miles [49.9 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Cotton to Duluth, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 155 miles [249.4 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 963 miles [1,549.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 38 days and walking would take 55 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,085 miles [9,792.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,842 miles [11,011.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,759 miles [7,658.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Cotton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Saint Louis County: www.co.st-louis.mn.us/

The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.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- Cotton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cotton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.1694, Longitude: -92.4763       In this case, the coordinates for Cotton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Cotton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Cotton 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.
<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 Cotton 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 317.711 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.791 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.587 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025