Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Hector, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hector and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Hector
- 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 Hector:
- 44.742051, -94.713446
- 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 Hector
- 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 Renville County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Renville County
- Since Hector is near McLeod County and also Meeker County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for McLeod County
- eBird sighting report for Meeker 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 Hector ...
We found eleven communities that share the name Hector.
Within Minnesota, the name Hector is unique.
Beyond Minnesota, we know of another eleven communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eleven communities, ten are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- British Columbia
- This Hector lies 1,093 miles [1,759 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Hector that is located in Renville County.
- California
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Greeley 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 Kansas community of Hector [Greeley County].
- Johnson County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Hector [Johnson County].
- Kentucky
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Hector ...
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.
- Casey
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast) - Darwin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Darwin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darwin
- Darwin is located in Meeker County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 355 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Darwin <4>
- Evan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evan
- Evan is located in Brown County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- Franklin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Franklin is located in Renville County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 465 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <4>
- Greenleaf
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast) - Grove City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove City
- Grove City is located in Meeker County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 624 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grove City <4>
- Jennie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast) - Roseland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseland
- Roseland is located in Kandiyohi County
- Silver Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Silver Lake is located in McLeod County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silver Lake <4>
- Sunrise Court
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunrise Court have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Court
- Sunrise Court is located in McLeod County
How Far From Hector 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 Hector to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Hector and extending to:
- Olivia, which is the Seat of Renville County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Hector to Olivia, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 80 miles [128.7 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 992 miles [1,596.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 57 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,281 miles [10,108.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- 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).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,950 miles [7,966.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Hector. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Renville County: www.co.renville.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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Hector) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hector. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.7421, Longitude: -94.7134 In this case, the coordinates for Hector 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 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 Hector 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> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Hector 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 319.323 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.30 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.494 degrees. |