Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Fossum, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fossum and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Fossum
- 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 Fossum:
- 47.238573, -96.176166
- 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 Fossum
- 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 Norman County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Norman County
- Since Fossum is near Mahnomen County and also Clay County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Mahnomen County
- eBird sighting report for Clay 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Fossum ...
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.
- Anthony
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west) - Dale
(23 miles [37 km] to the south) - Faith
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faith
- Faith is located in Norman County
- Fertile
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertile
- Fertile is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fertile <2>
- Flaming
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north) - Gary
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Gary is located in Norman County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gary <2>
- Richwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast) - Twin Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Valley
- Twin Valley is located in Norman County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 750 people
- Winger
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winger
- Winger is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winger <2>
How Far From Fossum 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 community such as Fossum to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Fossum and extending to:
- Ada, which is the Seat of Norman County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<4> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Fossum to Ada, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 216 miles [347.6 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,119 miles [1,800.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 44 days and walking would take 64 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,195 miles [9,969.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,956 miles [11,194.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,888 miles [7,866.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Fossum. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Norman County: www.co.norman.mn.us/
The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Fossum) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fossum. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.2386, Longitude: -96.1762 In this case, the coordinates for Fossum have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Fossum to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.39 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.838 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.683 degrees. |