Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ostrander, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ostrander and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ostrander
- 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 Ostrander:
- 43.613291, -92.424865
- 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 Ostrander
- 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 Fillmore County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Fillmore County
- Since Ostrander is near Mower County and also Howard County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Mower County
- eBird sighting report for Howard 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 Ostrander ...
We found five communities that share the name Ostrander.
Within Minnesota, the name Ostrander is unique.
Beyond Minnesota, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, four are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Ostrander lies 588 miles [946.3 km]<1> to the east of the Ostrander that is located in Fillmore County.
- Pennsylvania
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ostrander ...
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.
- Chester
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
- Chester is located in Howard County (IA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chester <3>
- Florenceville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florenceville
- Florenceville is located in Howard County (IA)
- Forest City ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
- Forest City is located in Howard County (IA)
- Forestville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forestville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
- Forestville is located in Fillmore County
- Fountain
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fountain have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain
- Fountain is located in Fillmore County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 398 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fountain <3>
- Grand Meadow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Meadow have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Meadow
- Grand Meadow is located in Mower County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,194 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand Meadow <3>
- High Forest
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for High Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Forest
- High Forest is located in Olmsted County
- Le Roy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Le Roy have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Roy
- Le Roy is located in Mower County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 932 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Le Roy <3>
- Lime Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Springs
- Lime Springs is located in Howard County (IA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 476 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lime Springs <3>
- Pleasant Grove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Pleasant Grove is located in Olmsted County
- Spring Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Fillmore County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,424 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Valley <3>
How Far From Ostrander 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 Ostrander to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ostrander and extending to:
- Preston, which is the Seat of Fillmore County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Ostrander to Preston, 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 98 miles [157.7 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 860 miles [1,384 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 34 days and walking would take 49 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,265 miles [10,082.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,016 miles [11,291.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,916 miles [7,911.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ostrander. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Fillmore County: www.co.fillmore.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 drawn from Point A (ie- Ostrander) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ostrander. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.6133, Longitude: -92.4249 In this case, the coordinates for Ostrander 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 Ostrander 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Ostrander 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 317.699 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.295 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.546 degrees. |