Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Birchwood, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Birchwood and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Birchwood
- 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 Birchwood:
- 42.016698, -87.665335
- 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 Birchwood
- 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 Cook County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Cook County
- Since Birchwood is near Lake County and also DuPage County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lake County
- eBird sighting report for DuPage 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 Birchwood ...
We found seventeen communities that share the name Birchwood.
Within Illinois, the name Birchwood is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another seventeen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seventeen communities, sixteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alaska
- This Birchwood lies 2,824 miles [4,544.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Birchwood that is located in Cook County.
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Berrien County
- This Birchwood is located in Berrien County and lies 54 miles [86.9 km]<1> to the east of the Birchwood that is located in Cook County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Berrien County community of Birchwood.
- Cheboygan County
- This Birchwood is located in Cheboygan County and lies 288 miles [463.5 km] to the north northeast of the Birchwood that is located in Cook County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cheboygan County community of Birchwood.
- Minnesota
- New York
- North Carolina
- Alamance County
- This Birchwood is located in Alamance County and lies 597 miles [960.8 km]<1> to the southeast of the Birchwood that is located in Cook County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Alamance County community of Birchwood.
- Pitt County
- This Birchwood is located in Pitt County and lies 698 miles [1,123.3 km] to the southeast of the Birchwood that is located in Cook County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pitt County community of Birchwood.
- Ontario
- This Birchwood lies 420 miles [675.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Birchwood that is located in Cook County.
- Tennessee
- Hamilton County
- This Birchwood is located in Hamilton County and lies 481 miles [774.1 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Birchwood that is located in Cook County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of Birchwood.
- Meigs County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Birchwood [Meigs County].
- Montgomery County
- This Birchwood is located in Montgomery County and lies 372 miles [598.7 km] to the south of the Birchwood that is located in Cook County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Birchwood.
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Kewaunee County
- This Birchwood is located in Kewaunee County and lies 168 miles [270.4 km]<1> to the north of the Birchwood that is located in Cook County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kewaunee County community of Birchwood.
- Washburn County
- This Birchwood is located in Washburn County and lies 317 miles [510.2 km] to the northwest of the Birchwood that is located in Cook County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washburn County community of Birchwood.
- Alaska
Curious and Interesting Names Near Birchwood ...
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.
- California Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for California Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California Park
- California Park is located in Cook County
- Cedar Lawn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Lawn have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lawn
- Cedar Lawn is located in Cook County
- Edgewater
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Lincoln Square ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln Square have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Square
- Lincoln Square is located in Cook County
- Lincolnwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnwood
- Lincolnwood is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,091 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lincolnwood <4>
- Ravenswood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ravenswood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenswood
- Ravenswood is located in Cook County
- Ravenswood Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ravenswood Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenswood Gardens
- Ravenswood Gardens is located in Cook County
- Ravenswood Place
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ravenswood Place have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenswood Place
- Ravenswood Place is located in Cook County
- Rogers Park
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rogers Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers Park
- Rogers Park is located in Cook County
- Summerdale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summerdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerdale
- Summerdale is located in Cook County
- Sunnyside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Swedentown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swedentown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedentown
- Swedentown is located in Cook County
How Far From Birchwood 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 Birchwood to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Birchwood and extending to:
- Chicago, which is the Seat of Cook County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Birchwood to Chicago, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 185 miles [297.7 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 598 miles [962.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 34 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,177 miles [9,940.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,916 miles [11,130.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,800 miles [7,724.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Birchwood. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Cook County: www.co.cook.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- Birchwood) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Birchwood. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.0167, Longitude: -87.6653 In this case, the coordinates for Birchwood have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Birchwood 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 Birchwood 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 314.457 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.375 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.543 degrees. |