Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alvin, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alvin and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Alvin
- 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 Alvin:
- 40.309680, -87.606152
- 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 Alvin
- 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 Vermilion County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Vermilion County
- Since Alvin is near Warren County and also Benton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Warren County
- eBird sighting report for Benton 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 Alvin ...
We found ten communities that share the name Alvin.
Within Illinois, the name Alvin is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these ten communities, nine are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- British Columbia
- This Alvin lies 1,808 miles [2,909.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Alvin that is located in Vermilion County.
- Colorado
- Georgia
- Banks County
- This community is historic<2> and although located in Banks County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Banks County community of Alvin.
- Madison County
- This Alvin is located in Madison County and lies 480 miles [772.5 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Alvin that is located in Vermilion County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of Alvin.
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Wisconsin
- British Columbia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Alvin ...
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.
- Blue Grass ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Grass have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Grass
- Blue Grass is located in Vermilion County
- Danville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Danville is located in Vermilion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30,106 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danville <4>
- Denmark ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Denmark is located in Vermilion County
- Gray Ford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west) - Hartshorn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south) - Heaton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Hillery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south) - Jamesburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Judyville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east) - Sycamore Corner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sycamore Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore Corner
- Sycamore Corner is located in Warren County (IN)
How Far From Alvin 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 village such as Alvin to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Alvin and extending to:
- Danville, which is the Seat of Vermilion County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Alvin to Danville, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 114 miles [183.5 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 570 miles [917.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 33 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,257 miles [10,069.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,991 miles [11,250.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,871 miles [7,839.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alvin. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Vermilion County: www.co.vermilion.il.us/
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 from Point A (ie- Alvin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alvin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3097, Longitude: -87.6062 |
| <2> | 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 Alvin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Alvin 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 314.417 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.087 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.997 degrees. |