Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Babylon, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Babylon and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Babylon
- 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 Babylon:
- 40.590164, -90.348702
- 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 Babylon
- 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 Fulton County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Fulton County
- Since Babylon is near McDonough County and also Knox County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for McDonough County
- eBird sighting report for Knox 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 Babylon ...
We found four communities that share the name Babylon.
Within Illinois, the name Babylon is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
In addition to the above occurrences of Babylon, we know of another community located outside of the United States and Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Nevada
- New York
- Utah
- Communities Beyond North America ...
- Czech Republic
- Distance: 4,667 miles [7,510.8 km]<2> to the northeast
- Czech Republic
Curious and Interesting Names Near Babylon ...
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.
- Buckeye
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Cuba
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cuba have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Cuba is located in Fulton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,149 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cuba <4>
- London Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for London Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for London Mills
- London Mills is located in Fulton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for London Mills <4>
- Manley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - New Philadelphia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Philadelphia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Philadelphia
- New Philadelphia is located in McDonough County
- Pleasant Ridge ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
- Pleasant Ridge is located in Fulton County
- Poverty Ridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poverty Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poverty Ridge
- Poverty Ridge is located in Fulton County
- Prairie City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
- Prairie City is located in McDonough County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Walnut Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Walnut Grove is located in McDonough County
How Far From Babylon 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 Babylon to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Babylon and extending to:
- Lewistown, which is the Seat of Fulton County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<2> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Babylon to Lewistown, 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 five to six hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 66 miles [106.2 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 715 miles [1,150.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 41 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,345 miles [10,211.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,085 miles [11,402.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,970 miles [7,998.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Babylon. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.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 Babylon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Babylon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Babylon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.5902, Longitude: -90.3487 |
| <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 Babylon 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 316.233 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.207 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.252 degrees. |