Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Niles, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Niles and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Niles
- 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 Niles:
- 48.281064, -99.351340
- 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 Niles
- 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 Benson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Benson County
- Since Niles is near Ramsey County and also Towner County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Ramsey County
- eBird sighting report for Towner 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 Niles ...
We found seventeen communities that share the name Niles.
Within North Dakota, the name Niles is unique.
Beyond North Dakota, we know of another seventeen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Boone 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 Iowa community of Niles [Boone County].
- Floyd 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 Iowa community of Niles [Floyd County].
- Kansas
- Michigan
- Berrien County
- This Niles is located in Berrien County and lies 777 miles [1,250.5 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Niles that is located in Benson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Berrien County community of Niles.
- Oakland 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 Michigan community of Niles [Oakland County].
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- New York
- Ohio
- Gallia County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Gallia County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gallia County community of Niles.
- Trumbull County
- This Niles is located in Trumbull County and lies 1,031 miles [1,659.2 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Niles that is located in Benson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Trumbull County community of Niles.
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Harris 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 Texas community of Niles [Harris County].
- Lee 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 Texas community of Niles [Lee County].
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Niles ...
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.
- Agate
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agate
- Agate is located in Rolette County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Agate <4>
- Comstock
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Devils Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Devils Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devils Lake
- Devils Lake is located in Ramsey County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,229 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Devils Lake <4>
- Flora
(23 miles [37 km] to the south) - Grand Harbor
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Harbor have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Harbor
- Grand Harbor is located in Ramsey County
- Josephine
(23 miles [37 km] to the south) - Pleasant Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Pleasant Lake is located in Benson County
- Starkweather
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starkweather
- Starkweather is located in Ramsey County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Starkweather <4>
- Sweetwater
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweetwater have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater
- Sweetwater is located in Ramsey County
How Far From Niles 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 community such as Niles to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Niles and extending to:
- Minnewaukan, which is the Seat of Benson County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Niles to Minnewaukan, with an average speed<6> 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 four to five hours.
- Bismarck, which is the State Capital of North Dakota, lies 121 miles [194.7 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,283 miles [2,064.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 51 days and walking would take 73 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,230 miles [10,026.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,995 miles [11,257.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,948 miles [7,963 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Niles. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of North Dakota: www.nd.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Niles) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Niles. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.2811, Longitude: -99.3513 In this case, the coordinates for Niles 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 Niles 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> | 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 Niles, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Niles to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 322.74 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 321.639 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.283 degrees. |