RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Wisconsin >> Richland County >> Basswood >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Basswood:
    • 43.262484, -90.499292
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Basswood
  • 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 Richland County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Richland County
    • Since Basswood is near Grant County and also Iowa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Grant County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Iowa 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Basswood

Communities Also Named Basswood ...

We found three communities that are also named Basswood.

Within Wisconsin, the name Basswood is unique.

Beyond Wisconsin, we know of three communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these three communities, .

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Manitoba
      • This Basswood lies 661 miles [1,063.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Basswood that is located in Richland County.
    • Michigan
      • Iron County
      • This Basswood is located in Iron County and lies 217 miles [349.2 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Basswood that is located in Richland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Iron County community of Basswood.
    • Minnesota
      • Otter Tail County
      • This Basswood is located in Otter Tail County and lies 336 miles [540.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Basswood that is located in Richland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Otter Tail County community of Basswood.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Basswood ...

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.

  • Bosstown
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bosstown is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosstown
  • Five Points
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Five Points is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
  • Gotham
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Gotham is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gotham
  • Harmony Hill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Harmony Hill is located in Crawford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Hill
  • Hickory Grove
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hickory Grove is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
  • Jimtown
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jimtown is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
  • Orion
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Orion is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
  • Sand Prairie
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sand Prairie is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Prairie
  • Twin Bluffs
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Twin Bluffs is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Bluffs
  • Wild Rose
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Wild Rose is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wild Rose

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Basswood and extending to:

  • Richland Center, which is the Seat of Richland County, lies just to the Northeast.
  • Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 56 miles [90.1 km]<1> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could walk a straight line from Basswood to Madison, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 761 miles [1,224.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 44 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,216 miles [10,003.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,964 miles [11,207.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,857 miles [7,816.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Basswood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Basswood to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Basswood. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.2625, Longitude: -90.4993       In this case, the coordinates for Basswood have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.366 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.727 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.629 degrees.