Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Otsego, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Otsego and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Otsego
- 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 Otsego:
- 43.403940, -89.166418
- 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 Otsego
- 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 Columbia County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Columbia County
- Since Otsego is near Dane County and also Dodge County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Dane County
- eBird sighting report for Dodge 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 Otsego ...
We found eight communities that share the name Otsego.
Within Wisconsin, the name Otsego is unique.
Beyond Wisconsin, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Iowa
- Otsego #
- This community is historichttp://www.waymarking.com/wm/search.aspx?f=1&lat=43.403940&lon=-89.166418&t=6 and we have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for Otsego.
- Kansas
- Michigan
- Allegan County
- This Otsego is located in Allegan County and lies 187 miles [300.9 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Otsego that is located in Columbia County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegan County community of Otsego.
- Otsego County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Otsego [Otsego County].
- Minnesota
- Ohio
- Muskingum County
- This Otsego is located in Muskingum County and lies 443 miles [712.9 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Otsego that is located in Columbia County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Muskingum County community of Otsego.
- Wood County
- This Otsego is located in Wood County and lies 305 miles [490.8 km] to the east southeast of the Otsego that is located in Columbia County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wood County community of Otsego.
- West Virginia
- Iowa
Curious and Interesting Names Near Otsego ...
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.
- Columbus
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
- Columbus is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,117 people
- Danville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast) - DeForest
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeForest
- DeForest is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,915 people
- Fall River
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Fall River is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,757 people
- Friesland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Lost Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Lowville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Pardeeville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pardeeville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardeeville
- Pardeeville is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,053 people
- Pebble Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pebble Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pebble Valley
- Pebble Valley is located in Dane County
- Randolph
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Otsego to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Otsego to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Otsego and extending to:
- Portage, which is the Seat of Columbia County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Otsego to Portage, with an average speed<4> 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.
- Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 25 miles [40.2 km] to the south southwest (SSW). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 702 miles [1,129.8 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 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,163 miles [9,918.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,908 miles [11,117.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,799 miles [7,723.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Otsego. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Columbia County: www.co.columbia.wi.us/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Otsego 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. |
| <2> | 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- Otsego) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Otsego. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.4039, Longitude: -89.1664 |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Otsego to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.455 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.708 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.899 degrees. |