Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Pekin, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Pekin and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Pekin
- 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 Pekin:
- 41.162745, -92.159088
- 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 Pekin
- 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 Jefferson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
- Since Pekin is near Keokuk County and also Wapello County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Keokuk County
- eBird sighting report for Wapello 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 Pekin ...
We found twenty communities that share the name Pekin.
Within Iowa, the name Pekin is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another twenty communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Craighead County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Pekin [Craighead County].
- Stone County
- This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Pekin [Stone County].
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Morgan County
- This Pekin is located in Morgan County and lies 518 miles [833.6 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Pekin that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morgan County community of Pekin.
- Rowan County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kentucky community of Pekin [Rowan County].
- Maryland
- Nebraska
- New York
- Niagara County
- This Pekin is located in Niagara County and lies 692 miles [1,113.7 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Pekin that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Niagara County community of Pekin.
- Oswego County
- This Pekin is located in Oswego County and lies 841 miles [1,353.5 km] to the east northeast of the Pekin that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oswego County community of Pekin.
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Carroll County
- This Pekin is located in Carroll County and lies 576 miles [927 km]<2> to the east of the Pekin that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carroll County community of Pekin.
- Jefferson County
- This Pekin is located in Jefferson County and lies 602 miles [968.8 km] to the east of the Pekin that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Pekin.
- Medina County
- This community is historic<1> and although located in Medina County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Medina County community of Pekin.
- Stark County
- This community is historic and although located in Stark County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stark County community of Pekin.
- Warren County
- This Pekin is located in Warren County and lies 434 miles [698.5 km] to the east southeast of the Pekin that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Pekin.
- Tennessee
- Vermont
- Arkansas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Pekin ...
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.
- Cliffland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffland
- Cliffland is located in Wapello County
- Delta
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
- Delta is located in Keokuk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
- Grace Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grace Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace Hill
- Grace Hill is located in Washington County
- Harper
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north) - Kirkville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west) - Libertyville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
- Martinsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martinsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
- Martinsburg is located in Keokuk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Marysville ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marysville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysville
- Marysville is located in Wapello County
- Pickwick
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest) - Pleasant Plain
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plain
- Pleasant Plain is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
How Far From Pekin 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 community such as Pekin to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Pekin and extending to:
- Fairfield, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<2> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Pekin to Fairfield, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 81 miles [130.4 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 813 miles [1,308.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 47 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,380 miles [10,267.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,126 miles [11,468.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,016 miles [8,072.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Pekin. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Pekin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | 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- Pekin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Pekin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.1627, Longitude: -92.1591 In this case, the coordinates for Pekin have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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 Pekin 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. |
| <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 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 Pekin 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 317.47 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.704 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.014 degrees. |