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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Joel, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Joel 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 Joel:
    • 45.360515, -92.234632
    • 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 Joel
  • 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 Polk County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Polk County
    • Since Joel is near Barron County and also Saint Croix County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Barron County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Saint Croix 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 Joel

Communities Also Named Joel ...

We found three communities that are also named Joel.

Within Wisconsin, the name Joel is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Georgia
      • Carroll County
      • This Joel is located in Carroll County and lies 900 miles [1,448.4 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Joel that is located in Polk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carroll County community of Joel.
    • Idaho
      • Latah County
      • This Joel is located in Latah County and lies 1,180 miles [1,899 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Joel that is located in Polk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Latah County community of Joel.
    • Texas
      • Deaf Smith County
      • This Joel is located in Deaf Smith County and lies 897 miles [1,443.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Joel that is located in Polk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Deaf Smith County community of Joel.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Joel ...

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.

  • Clear Lake
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Clear Lake is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,099 people
  • Comstock
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Comstock is located in Barron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
  • Deer Park
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Deer Park is located in Saint Croix County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Park
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
  • Fox Creek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Fox Creek is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Creek
  • Graytown
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Graytown is located in Barron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graytown
  • Little Falls
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Little Falls is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Falls
  • Prairie Farm
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
  • Range
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Range is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Range
  • Turtle Lake
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Turtle Lake is located in Barron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Lake
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people

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

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

  • Balsam Lake, which is the Seat of Polk County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Joel to Balsam Lake, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 211 miles [339.6 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 12 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 895 miles [1,440.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 35 days and walking would take 51 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,169 miles [9,928 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,923 miles [11,141.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,831 miles [7,774.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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- Joel) 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 Joel 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 Joel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.3605, Longitude: -92.2346       In this case, the coordinates for Joel have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.566 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.38 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.973 degrees.