Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Atwater, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Atwater and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Atwater
- 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 Atwater:
- 39.332828, -89.725094
- 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 Atwater
- 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 Macoupin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Macoupin County
- Since Atwater is near Montgomery County and also Sangamon County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
- eBird sighting report for Sangamon 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 Atwater ...
We found nine communities that share the name Atwater.
Within Illinois, the name Atwater is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another nine communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these nine communities, eight are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Los Angeles County
- This Atwater is located in Los Angeles County and lies 1,612 miles [2,594.3 km]<1> to the west of the Atwater that is located in Macoupin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Los Angeles County community of Atwater.
- Merced County
- This Atwater is located in Merced County and lies 1,669 miles [2,686 km] to the west of the Atwater that is located in Macoupin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Merced County community of Atwater.
- Georgia
- Kansas
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Ohio
- Saskatchewan
- This Atwater lies 995 miles [1,601.3 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Atwater that is located in Macoupin County.
- Wisconsin
- California
Curious and Interesting Names Near Atwater ...
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.
- Farmersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmersville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmersville
- Farmersville is located in Montgomery County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 662 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farmersville <4>
- Greenridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenridge
- Greenridge is located in Macoupin County
- Honey Bend
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Bend
- Honey Bend is located in Montgomery County
- Island View
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Island View have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island View
- Island View is located in Montgomery County
- Raymond
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raymond have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
- Raymond is located in Montgomery County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 927 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Raymond <4>
- Shop Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shop Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shop Creek
- Shop Creek is located in Montgomery County
- Stagecoach Junction
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stagecoach Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Junction
- Stagecoach Junction is located in Montgomery County
- Standard City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standard City
- Standard City is located in Macoupin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Sunrise Hills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunrise Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Hills
- Sunrise Hills is located in Montgomery County
How Far From Atwater 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 Atwater to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Atwater and extending to:
- Carlinville, which is the Seat of Macoupin County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Atwater to Carlinville, with an average speed<5> 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 31 miles [49.9 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 679 miles [1,092.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 39 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,384 miles [10,274.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,120 miles [11,458.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,001 miles [8,048.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Atwater. 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Atwater) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Atwater. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3328, Longitude: -89.7251 In this case, the coordinates for Atwater 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 Atwater 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Atwater 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 315.786 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.521 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.259 degrees. |