Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Barstow, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Barstow and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Barstow
- 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 Barstow:
- 41.518174, -90.357394
- 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 Barstow
- 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 Rock Island County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Rock Island County
- Since Barstow is near Henry County and also Scott County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Henry County
- eBird sighting report for Scott 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 Barstow ...
We found seven communities that share the name Barstow.
Within Illinois, the name Barstow is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seven communities, six are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Fresno County
- This Barstow is located in Fresno County and lies 1,609 miles [2,589.4 km]<1> to the west of the Barstow that is located in Rock Island County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fresno County community of Barstow.
- San Bernardino County
- This Barstow is located in San Bernardino County and lies 1,510 miles [2,430.1 km] to the west of the Barstow that is located in Rock Island County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Bernardino County community of Barstow.
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Ontario
- Texas
- Washington
- California
Curious and Interesting Names Near Barstow ...
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.
- Carbon Cliff
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carbon Cliff have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon Cliff
- Carbon Cliff is located in Rock Island County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,932 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carbon Cliff <4>
- Cedar Brook
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Brook
- Cedar Brook is located in Rock Island County
- Great Oaks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Oaks
- Great Oaks is located in Scott County (IA)
- Green River
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green River have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
- Green River is located in Henry County
- Green Rock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Rock
- Green Rock is located in Henry County
- Hickory Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
- Hickory Hills is located in Henry County
- Panorama Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panorama Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama Park
- Panorama Park is located in Scott County (IA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 331 people
- Poplar Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poplar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
- Poplar Grove is located in Rock Island County
- Rapids City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rapids City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapids City
- Rapids City is located in Rock Island County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 962 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rapids City <4>
- Timber Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timber Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Ridge
- Timber Ridge is located in Henry County
How Far From Barstow to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Barstow to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Barstow and extending to:
- Rock Island, which is the Seat of Rock Island County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Barstow to Rock Island, 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 125 miles [201.2 km] to the south southeast (SSE). 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 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 724 miles [1,165.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 42 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,299 miles [10,137.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,041 miles [11,331.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,929 miles [7,932.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Barstow. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Rock Island County: www.co.rock-island.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Barstow) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Barstow. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.5182, Longitude: -90.3574 |
| <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 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 Barstow 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> | 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 Barstow 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 316.256 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.361 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.022 degrees. |