Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sparta, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sparta and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sparta
- 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 Sparta:
- 43.944384, -90.812368
- 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 Sparta
- 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 Monroe County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Monroe County
- Since Sparta is near La Crosse County and also Jackson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for La Crosse County
- eBird sighting report for Jackson 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 Sparta ...
We found 25 communities that share the name Sparta.
Within Wisconsin, the name Sparta is unique.
Beyond Wisconsin, we know of another 25 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 25 communities, 24 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Buchanan County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Missouri community of Sparta [Buchanan County].
- Christian County
- This Sparta is located in Christian County and lies 494 miles [795 km]<2> to the south southwest of the Sparta that is located in Monroe County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Christian County community of Sparta.
- Nebraska
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Athens County
- This community is historic<1> and although located in Athens County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Athens County community of Sparta.
- Morrow County
- This Sparta is located in Morrow County and lies 481 miles [774.1 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Sparta that is located in Monroe County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morrow County community of Sparta.
- Stark County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Sparta [Stark County].
- Ontario
- This Sparta lies 496 miles [798.2 km]<2> to the east of the Sparta that is located in Monroe County.
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sparta ...
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.
- Burns
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Cataract
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north) - Farmers Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmers Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers Valley
- Farmers Valley is located in Monroe County
- Four Corners
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
- Four Corners is located in Monroe County
- Lees Crossing
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lees Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Crossing
- Lees Crossing is located in Monroe County
- Leon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Rockland
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
- Rockland is located in La Crosse County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 710 people
- Tunnel City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tunnel City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnel City
- Tunnel City is located in Monroe County
How Far From Sparta 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 city such as Sparta to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sparta and extending to:
- Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 92 miles [148.1 km]<2> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Sparta to Madison, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 792 miles [1,274.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 31 days and walking would take 45 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,193 miles [9,966.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,942 miles [11,172.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,839 miles [7,787.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Sparta: www.spartawisconsin.org/
The official website for Monroe County: www.co.monroe.wi.us/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Sparta, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sparta) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sparta. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.9444, Longitude: -90.8124 |
| <3> | 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 Sparta 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Sparta to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.581 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.065 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.604 degrees. |