Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Iona, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Iona and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Iona
- 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 Iona:
- 43.915629, -95.784167
- 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 Iona
- 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 Murray County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Murray County
- Since Iona is near Nobles County and also Pipestone County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Nobles County
- eBird sighting report for Pipestone 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 Iona ...
We found eighteen communities that share the name Iona.
Within Minnesota, the name Iona is unique.
Beyond Minnesota, we know of another eighteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eighteen communities, fourteen are located in the United States and four are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Missouri
- Cape Girardeau County
- This community is historic<2> and although located in Cape Girardeau County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cape Girardeau County community of Iona.
- Worth County
- Although located in Worth County, we don't know the location within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Worth County community of Iona.
- Montana
- New Jersey
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- This Iona lies 2,006 miles [3,228.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Iona that is located in Murray County.
- Nova Scotia
- This Iona lies 1,701 miles [2,737.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Iona that is located in Murray County.
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Ontario
- This Iona lies 727 miles [1,170 km]<1> to the east of the Iona that is located in Murray County.
- Pennsylvania
- Prince Edward Island
- This Iona lies 1,605 miles [2,583 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Iona that is located in Murray County.
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Parker County
- This Iona is located in Parker County and lies 781 miles [1,256.9 km]<1> to the south of the Iona that is located in Murray County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Parker County community of Iona.
- Tarrant 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 Iona [Tarrant County].
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Iona ...
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.
- Current Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Current Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Current Lake
- Current Lake is located in Murray County
- Diamond Corner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Diamond Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Corner
- Diamond Corner is located in Pipestone County
- Dundee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east) - Heron Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heron Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heron Lake
- Heron Lake is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 643 people
- Holland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest) - Lime Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lime Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Creek
- Lime Creek is located in Murray County
- Lowville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Magnolia
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Magnolia is located in Rock County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Reading
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south) - Rushmore
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
How Far From Iona 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 Iona to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Iona and extending to:
- Slayton, which is the Seat of Murray County, lies just to the North Northeast.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 150 miles [241.4 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Iona to Saint Paul, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,028 miles [1,654.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 41 days and walking would take 59 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,359 miles [10,233.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,115 miles [11,450.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,027 miles [8,090.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Iona. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Murray County: www.murray-countymn.com/
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- Iona) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Iona. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.9156, Longitude: -95.7842 |
| <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 Iona, 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 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 Iona 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 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 Iona 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 320.073 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.05 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.275 degrees. |