Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Christopher, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Christopher and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Christopher
- 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 Christopher:
- 37.970930, -89.052728
- 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 Christopher
- 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 Christopher is near Perry County and also Williamson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Perry County
- eBird sighting report for Williamson 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 Christopher ...
We found six communities that share the name Christopher.
Within Illinois, the name Christopher is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these six communities, five are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Chattahoochee County
- This Christopher is located in Chattahoochee County and lies 459 miles [738.7 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Christopher that is located in Franklin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chattahoochee County community of Christopher.
- Kansas
- Reno 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 Kansas community of Christopher [Reno County].
- Kentucky
- Perry County
- This Christopher is located in Perry County and lies 325 miles [523 km]<1> to the east of the Christopher that is located in Franklin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Perry County community of Christopher.
- Missouri
- Newton County
- This Christopher is located in Newton County and lies 298 miles [479.6 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Christopher that is located in Franklin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Newton County community of Christopher.
- New Brunswick
- This Christopher lies 1,311 miles [2,109.8 km]<1> to the northeast of the Christopher that is located in Franklin County.
- Washington
- King County
- This Christopher is located in King County and lies 1,788 miles [2,877.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Christopher that is located in Franklin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the King County community of Christopher.
- Georgia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Christopher ...
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.
- Bush
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Chittyville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chittyville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chittyville
- Chittyville is located in Williamson County
- Dowell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dowell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Dowell is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 385 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dowell <4>
- Elkville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkville
- Elkville is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 864 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkville <4>
- Freeman Spur
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Spur
- Freeman Spur is located in Williamson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
- Freeman Spur has also been known as:
- Freeman Spur village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeman Spur <4>
- Hickory Corners
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Corners
- Hickory Corners is located in Franklin County
- Jenkins
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast) - Lake Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Creek
- Lake Creek is located in Franklin County
- Mitchell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Plumfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield
- Plumfield is located in Franklin County
- Steel City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steel City
- Steel City is located in Franklin County
How Far From Christopher 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 city such as Christopher to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Christopher and extending to:
- Benton, which is the Seat of Franklin County, lies just to the East Northeast.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 129 miles [207.6 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Christopher to Springfield, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 652 miles [1,049.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,426 miles [10,341.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,156 miles [11,516.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,034 miles [8,101.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Christopher. 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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Christopher) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Christopher. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9709, Longitude: -89.0527 In this case, the coordinates for Christopher 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Christopher 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 Christopher 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 315.302 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.777 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.269 degrees. |