Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bethalto, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bethalto and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bethalto
- 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 Bethalto:
- 38.910077, -90.040646
- 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 Bethalto
- 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 Madison County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Madison County
- Since Bethalto is near Macoupin County and also Saint Charles County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Macoupin County
- eBird sighting report for Saint Charles 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 Bethalto ...
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.
- Cottage Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottage Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hills
- Cottage Hills is located in Madison County
- Holiday Shores
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Shores
- Holiday Shores is located in Madison County
- Ivy Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ivy Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy Heights
- Ivy Heights is located in Madison County
- Meadowbrook
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadowbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Meadowbrook is located in Madison County
- Rosedale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Rosewood Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosewood Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood Heights
- Rosewood Heights is located in Madison County
- Wanda
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Wood River
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wood River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood River
- Wood River is located in Madison County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,002 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wood River <2>
How Far From Bethalto 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 village such as Bethalto to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Bethalto and extending to:
- Edwardsville, which is the Seat of Madison County, lies just to the South Southeast.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 63 miles [101.4 km]<3> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could walk a straight line from Bethalto to Springfield, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 698 miles [1,123.3 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,417 miles [10,327.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,152 miles [11,510 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,033 miles [8,099.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Bethalto: www.bethalto.com/
The official website for Madison County: www.co.madison.il.us/
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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bethalto) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bethalto. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9101, Longitude: -90.0406 |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Bethalto to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.98 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.686 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.509 degrees. |