RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative
Quarter for
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The Commemorative Quarter for Florida





Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rock Island, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rock Island 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 Rock Island:
    • 26.112590, -81.344244
    • 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 Rock Island
  • 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 Rock Island ...

We found 21 communities that share the name Rock Island.

There is one other community in Florida which is also named Rock Island.

Beyond Florida, we know of another twenty communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these twenty communities, nineteen are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Florida ...
    • Broward County
      • This Rock Island is located in Broward County and lies 72 miles [115.9 km]<1> to the east of the Rock Island that is located in Collier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Broward County community of Rock Island.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Idaho
      • Washington 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 Idaho community of Rock Island [Washington County].
    • Illinois
      • Rock Island County
      • This Rock Island is located in Rock Island County and lies 1,184 miles [1,905.5 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Rock Island that is located in Collier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rock Island County community of Rock Island.
    • Indiana
      • Marion 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 Indiana community of Rock Island [Marion County].
    • Kansas
      • Brown 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 Rock Island [Brown County].
      • Grant 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 Kansas community of Rock Island [Grant County].
    • Manitoba
      • We haven't found the location of this community yet.
    • Massachusetts
      • Norfolk County
      • This Rock Island is located in Norfolk County and lies 1,260 miles [2,027.8 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Rock Island that is located in Collier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Norfolk County community of Rock Island.
    • Nevada
      • Storey County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Storey County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Storey County community of Rock Island.
    • Oklahoma
      • Canadian 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 Oklahoma community of Rock Island [Canadian County].
      • Le Flore County
      • This Rock Island is located in Le Flore County and lies 998 miles [1,606.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Rock Island that is located in Collier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Le Flore County community of Rock Island.
    • Quebec
      • This Rock Island lies 1,401 miles [2,254.7 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Rock Island that is located in Collier County.
    • Tennessee
      • Warren County
      • This Rock Island is located in Warren County and lies 714 miles [1,149.1 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Rock Island that is located in Collier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Rock Island.
    • Texas
      • Colorado County
      • This Rock Island is located in Colorado County and lies 958 miles [1,541.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rock Island that is located in Collier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Colorado County community of Rock Island.
      • Liberty County
      • This Rock Island is located in Liberty County and lies 857 miles [1,379.2 km] to the west northwest of the Rock Island that is located in Collier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Liberty County community of Rock Island.
      • Marion County
      • This Rock Island is located in Marion County and lies 925 miles [1,488.6 km] to the northwest of the Rock Island that is located in Collier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Rock Island.
      • Polk 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 Texas community of Rock Island [Polk County].
      • Waller County
      • This Rock Island is located in Waller County and lies 941 miles [1,514.4 km] to the west northwest of the Rock Island that is located in Collier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Waller County community of Rock Island.
      • Washington County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Washington County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Rock Island.
    • Virginia
      • Buckingham 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 Virginia community of Rock Island [Buckingham County].
    • Washington
      • Douglas County
      • This Rock Island is located in Douglas County and lies 2,560 miles [4,119.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Rock Island that is located in Collier County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Douglas County community of Rock Island.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rock Island ...

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.

  • Deep Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deep Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Lake
    • Deep Lake is located in Collier County
  • Everglades City
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Jerome
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
    • Jerome is located in Collier County
  • Lee Cypress
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lee Cypress have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Cypress
    • Lee Cypress is located in Collier County
  • Miles City
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miles City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles City
    • Miles City is located in Collier County
  • Plantation Island
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plantation Island
    • Plantation Island is located in Collier County
  • Royal Palm Hammock
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal Palm Hammock have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Palm Hammock
    • Royal Palm Hammock is located in Collier County
  • Wagon Wheel
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wagon Wheel have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagon Wheel
    • Wagon Wheel is located in Collier County
  • Weavers Station
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weavers Station have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weavers Station
    • Weavers Station is located in Collier County

How Far From Rock Island 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 Rock Island to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Naples, which is the Seat of Collier County, lies 28 miles [45.1 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Rock Island to Naples, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 347 miles [558.4 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 917 miles [1,475.8 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 36 days and walking would take 53 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,649 miles [10,700.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,303 miles [11,753 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,216 miles [8,394.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rock Island. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Collier County: www.co.collier.fl.us/

The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/

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 from Point A (ie- Rock Island) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rock Island. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.1126, Longitude: -81.3442       In this case, the coordinates for Rock Island 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 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 Rock Island 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>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 Rock Island, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>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.
<7>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 Rock Island to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.104 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.137 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.92 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024