Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Akin, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Akin and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Akin
- 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 Akin:
- 37.988104, -88.747561
- 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 Akin
- 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 Franklin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Franklin County
- Since Akin is near Hamilton County and also Saline County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hamilton County
- eBird sighting report for Saline 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 Akin ...
We found six communities that share the name Akin.
Within Illinois, the name Akin is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Colorado
- Georgia
- Stephens County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Akin [Stephens County].
- Wayne County
- This Akin is located in Wayne County and lies 602 miles [968.8 km]<1> to the southeast of the Akin that is located in Franklin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Akin.
- Kansas
- New York
- Oregon
Curious and Interesting Names Near Akin ...
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.
- Cornerville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerville
- Cornerville is located in Saline County
- Diana
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Flint
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Greenville ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Greenville is located in Franklin County
- Halltown ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Locust Grove ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locust Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
- Locust Grove is located in Franklin County
- Rural Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rural Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Hill
- Rural Hill is located in Hamilton County
- Rust
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Smothersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smothersville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
- Smothersville is located in Franklin County
- Steel City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steel City
- Steel City is located in Franklin County
- Tuckers Corners
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tuckers Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckers Corners
- Tuckers Corners is located in Hamilton County
- University
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University
- University is located in Hamilton County
How Far From Akin 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 Akin to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Akin and extending to:
- Benton, which is the Seat of Franklin County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Akin to Benton, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 133 miles [214 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 636 miles [1,023.5 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,413 miles [10,320.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,143 miles [11,495.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,021 miles [8,080.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Akin. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
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- Akin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Akin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9881, Longitude: -88.7476 In this case, the coordinates for Akin have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Akin 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. |
| <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 Akin 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 315.106 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.554 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.125 degrees. |