Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Minnesota Lake, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Minnesota Lake and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Minnesota Lake
- 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 Minnesota Lake:
- 43.840544, -93.827328
- 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 Minnesota Lake
- 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 Faribault County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Faribault County
- Since Minnesota Lake is near Blue Earth County and also Waseca County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Blue Earth County
- eBird sighting report for Waseca 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 Minnesota Lake ...
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.
- Amboy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amboy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amboy
- Amboy is located in Blue Earth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 505 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Amboy <2>
- Blue Earth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Earth
- Blue Earth is located in Faribault County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,098 people
- Former name for Blue Earth:
- Blue Earth City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Earth <2>
- Dell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south) - Freeborn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeborn
- Freeborn is located in Freeborn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeborn <2>
- Frost
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frost have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
- Frost is located in Faribault County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frost <2>
- Good Thunder
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Good Thunder have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Thunder
- Good Thunder is located in Blue Earth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 566 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Good Thunder <2>
- Hartland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east) - Janesville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Janesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janesville
- Janesville is located in Waseca County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,247 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Janesville <2>
- Vista
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vista
- Vista is located in Waseca County
How Far From Minnesota Lake to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Minnesota Lake to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Minnesota Lake and extending to:
- Blue Earth, which is the Seat of Faribault County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<4> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Minnesota Lake to Blue Earth, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 84 miles [135.2 km] to the north northeast (NNE). 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 932 miles [1,499.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 37 days and walking would take 53 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,300 miles [10,138.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,053 miles [11,350.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,958 miles [7,979.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Minnesota Lake: www.minnesotalake.com/
The official website for Faribault County: www.co.faribault.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Minnesota Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Minnesota Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.8405, Longitude: -93.8273 In this case, the coordinates for Minnesota Lake 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 Minnesota Lake 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 318.684 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.451 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.236 degrees. |