Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Batchtown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Batchtown and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Batchtown
- 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 Batchtown:
- 39.033196, -90.653366
- 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 Batchtown
- 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 Calhoun County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Calhoun County
- Since Batchtown is near Lincoln County and also Jersey County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lincoln County
- eBird sighting report for Jersey 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Batchtown ...
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.
- Apex
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Birch Island
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Birch Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birch Island
- Birch Island is located in Calhoun County
- Centerville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Calhoun County
- Democrat Spring
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Democrat Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Democrat Spring
- Democrat Spring is located in Jersey County
- Highview ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Kings Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kings Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Lake
- Kings Lake is located in Lincoln County (MO)
- Marshall Landing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marshall Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall Landing
- Marshall Landing is located in Calhoun County
- Maryknoll
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Nutwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutwood
- Nutwood is located in Jersey County
- Oasis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Rosedale
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Star City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
How Far From Batchtown 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 village such as Batchtown to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Batchtown and extending to:
- Hardin, which is the Seat of Calhoun County, lies just to the North.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 74 miles [119.1 km]<2> to the northeast (NE). If you could drive a straight line from Batchtown to Springfield, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 730 miles [1,174.8 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,433 miles [10,352.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,170 miles [11,539 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,052 miles [8,130.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Batchtown. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <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- Batchtown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Batchtown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0332, Longitude: -90.6534 In this case, the coordinates for Batchtown have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Batchtown to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.388 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.173 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.771 degrees. |