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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Elk River, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Elk River 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 Elk River:
    • 45.331319, -93.566935
    • 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 Elk River
  • 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 Elk River ...

We found five communities that share the name Elk River.

Within Minnesota, the name Elk River is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Humboldt County
      • This Elk River is located in Humboldt County and lies 1,567 miles [2,521.8 km]<1> to the west of the Elk River that is located in Sherburne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Humboldt County community of Elk River.
    • Colorado
      • Routt County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Elk River [Routt County].
    • Idaho
      • Clearwater County
      • This Elk River is located in Clearwater County and lies 1,084 miles [1,744.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Elk River that is located in Sherburne County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clearwater County community of Elk River.
    • Kansas
      • Elk County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Elk County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Elk County community of Elk River.
    • Tennessee
      • Franklin County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Elk River [Franklin County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Elk River ...

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.

  • Big Lake
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Buffalo
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buffalo have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
    • Buffalo is located in Wright County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,853 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buffalo <4>
  • Cedar
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
    • Cedar is located in Anoka County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar <4>
  • Constance
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Constance have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Constance
    • Constance is located in Anoka County
  • Coon Creek
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Creek
    • Coon Creek is located in Anoka County
  • Coon Rapids
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Crown
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown
    • Crown is located in Isanti County
  • Greenfield
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenfield have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
    • Greenfield is located in Hennepin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,058 people
  • Maple Grove
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Nowthen
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nowthen have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nowthen
    • Nowthen is located in Anoka County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,732 people
  • Oak Grove
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Oak Grove is located in Anoka County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,027 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak Grove <4>
  • Rogers
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rogers have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
    • Rogers is located in Hennepin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,623 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogers <4>

How Far From Elk River 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 Elk River to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 34 miles [54.7 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could walk a straight line from Elk River to Saint Paul, 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 about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 953 miles [1,533.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, 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 6,214 miles [10,000.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,970 miles [11,217.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,881 miles [7,855.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

The official website for Elk River: www.ci.elk-river.mn.us/

The official website for Sherburne County: www.co.sherburne.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 '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- Elk River) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Elk River. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.3313, Longitude: -93.5669       In this case, the coordinates for Elk River have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<2>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 Elk River 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.
<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 Elk River, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<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 Elk River 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 318.51 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.45 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.712 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024