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The Commemorative
Quarter for
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The Commemorative Quarter for North Dakota





Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Nishu, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Nishu and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Nishu:
    • 47.532965, -101.915731
    • 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 Nishu
  • 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 Nishu ...

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.

  • Beaver Creek ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Elbowoods ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elbowoods. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbowoods
    • Elbowoods is located in McLean County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Elbowoods
    • From Nishu to Elbowoods
  • Emmet
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emmet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmet
    • Emmet is located in McLean County
  • Golden Valley
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Golden Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Valley
    • Golden Valley is located in Mercer County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Golden Valley <3>
  • Lucky Mound ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lucky Mound. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucky Mound
    • Lucky Mound is located in McLean County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Lucky Mound
    • From Nishu to Lucky Mound
  • Red Butte ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Red Butte. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Butte
    • Red Butte is located in Mercer County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Red Butte
    • From Nishu to Red Butte
  • Roseglen
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Twin Buttes
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Zap
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)

How Far From Nishu 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 Nishu to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<4> community of Nishu once stood, the straight-line distance<5> beginning in Nishu and extending to:

  • Washburn, which is the Seat of McLean County, lies 44 miles [70.8 km]<5> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Nishu to Washburn, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
  • Bismarck, which is the State Capital of North Dakota, lies 73 miles [117.5 km] to the southeast (SE). 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 1,378 miles [2,217.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 54 days and walking would take 79 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,342 miles [10,206.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,108 miles [11,439.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,069 miles [8,157.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

The official website for McLean County: www.visitmcleancounty.com/

The official website for State of North Dakota: https://www.nd.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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 Nishu, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Nishu) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Nishu. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.5330, Longitude: -101.9157    
<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 Nishu 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 324.66 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 323.739 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.978 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025