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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Crystal Lake, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Crystal Lake and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Crystal Lake:
    • 42.232241, -88.335171
    • 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 Crystal Lake
  • 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 Crystal Lake ...

We found 26 communities that share the name Crystal Lake.

There is one other community in Illinois which is also named Crystal Lake.

Beyond Illinois, we know of another 25 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 25 communities, 25 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Illinois ...
    • Madison 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 Illinois community of Crystal Lake [Madison County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Saint Clair 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 Alabama community of Crystal Lake [Saint Clair County].
    • California
      • Nevada County
      • This Crystal Lake is located in Nevada County and lies 1,687 miles [2,715 km]<2> to the west of the Crystal Lake that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nevada County community of Crystal Lake.
    • Colorado
      • Jefferson 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 Colorado community of Crystal Lake [Jefferson County].
      • Lake County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Crystal Lake [Lake County].
    • Connecticut
      • Tolland County
      • This Crystal Lake is located in Tolland County and lies 816 miles [1,313.2 km]<2> to the east of the Crystal Lake that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tolland County community of Crystal Lake.
    • Florida
      • Broward County
      • This Crystal Lake is located in Broward County and lies 1,194 miles [1,921.6 km]<2> to the south southeast of the Crystal Lake that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Broward County community of Crystal Lake.
      • Orange 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 Florida community of Crystal Lake [Orange County].
      • Polk County
      • This Crystal Lake is located in Polk County and lies 1,044 miles [1,680.2 km] to the south southeast of the Crystal Lake that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Polk County community of Crystal Lake.
      • Washington County
      • This Crystal Lake is located in Washington County and lies 827 miles [1,330.9 km] to the south of the Crystal Lake that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Crystal Lake.
    • Iowa
      • Hancock County
      • This Crystal Lake is located in Hancock County and lies 285 miles [458.7 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Crystal Lake that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hancock County community of Crystal Lake.
    • Kansas
      • Finney 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 Kansas community of Crystal Lake [Finney County].
    • Kentucky
      • Oldham 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 Kentucky community of Crystal Lake [Oldham County].
    • Michigan
      • Benzie 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 Crystal Lake [Benzie County].
      • Houghton County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Crystal Lake [Houghton County].
    • Nebraska
      • Dakota 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 Nebraska community of Crystal Lake [Dakota County].
    • New Jersey
      • Bergen County
      • This Crystal Lake is located in Bergen County and lies 732 miles [1,178 km]<2> to the east of the Crystal Lake that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bergen County community of Crystal Lake.
      • Ocean County
      • This Crystal Lake is located in Ocean County and lies 753 miles [1,211.8 km] to the east of the Crystal Lake that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ocean County community of Crystal Lake.
    • New York
      • Albany 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 New York community of Crystal Lake [Albany County].
      • Cattaraugus County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New York community of Crystal Lake [Cattaraugus County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Susquehanna 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 Pennsylvania community of Crystal Lake [Susquehanna County].
    • Saskatchewan
      • This Crystal Lake lies 935 miles [1,504.7 km]<2> to the northwest of the Crystal Lake that is located in McHenry County.
    • South Carolina
      • Horry County
      • This Crystal Lake is located in Horry County and lies 781 miles [1,256.9 km]<2> to the southeast of the Crystal Lake that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Horry County community of Crystal Lake.
    • Texas
      • Anderson County
      • This Crystal Lake is located in Anderson County and lies 824 miles [1,326.1 km]<2> to the south southwest of the Crystal Lake that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anderson County community of Crystal Lake.
    • West Virginia
      • Doddridge 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 West Virginia community of Crystal Lake [Doddridge County].
    • Wisconsin
      • Waupaca 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 Wisconsin community of Crystal Lake [Waupaca County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Crystal Lake ...

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.

  • Bull Valley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bull Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull Valley
    • Bull Valley is located in McHenry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,078 people
  • Crystal Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Gardens
    • Crystal Gardens is located in McHenry County
  • Crystal Vista
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Vista
    • Crystal Vista is located in McHenry County
  • Lake-in-the-Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake-in-the-Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake-in-the-Hills
    • Lake-in-the-Hills is located in McHenry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 28,345 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake-in-the-Hills <4>
  • Prairie Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
    • Prairie Grove is located in McHenry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,920 people
  • Silver Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
    • Silver Lake is located in McHenry County
  • Terra Cotta
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Terra Cotta have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terra Cotta
    • Terra Cotta is located in McHenry County
  • Trout Valley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trout Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout Valley
    • Trout Valley is located in McHenry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 508 people

How Far From Crystal Lake 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 Crystal Lake to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Crystal Lake and extending to:

  • Woodstock, which is the Seat of McHenry County, lies just to the Northwest.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 182 miles [292.9 km]<2> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Crystal Lake to Springfield, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 11 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 635 miles [1,021.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 36 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,191 miles [9,963.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,932 miles [11,156 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,817 miles [7,752.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

The official website for Crystal Lake: www.crystallake.org/

The official website for McHenry County: www.co.mchenry.il.us/

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.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 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 Crystal Lake 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- Crystal Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Crystal Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2322, Longitude: -88.3352       In this case, the coordinates for Crystal Lake have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Crystal Lake 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 314.902 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.913 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.814 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024