Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Block, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Block and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Block
- 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 Block:
- 39.968366, -88.085596
- 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 Block
- 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 Champaign County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Champaign County
- Since Block is near Douglas County and also Vermilion County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Douglas County
- eBird sighting report for Vermilion 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 Block ...
We found four communities that share the name Block.
Within Illinois, the name Block is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these four communities, three are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Kansas
- Michigan
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- This Block lies 1,518 miles [2,443 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Block that is located in Champaign County.
- Tennessee
Curious and Interesting Names Near Block ...
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.
- Archie
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archie
- Archie is located in Vermilion County
- Deers
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Glover
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north) - Hillcrest
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest) - Homer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Homer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Homer is located in Champaign County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,143 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer <4>
- Hughes
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast) - Hugo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south) - Jimtown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west) - Longview
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longview have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview
- Longview is located in Champaign County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longview <4>
- Maizetown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east) - Mayview
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayview
- Mayview is located in Champaign County
- Meadowview
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadowview have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowview
- Meadowview is located in Douglas County
- Royal
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Royal is located in Champaign County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Royal <4>
- Sellers
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
How Far From Block 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 Block to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Block and extending to:
- Urbana, which is the Seat of Champaign County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Block to Urbana, 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 84 miles [135.2 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 593 miles [954.3 km] to the east (E). 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 6,292 miles [10,126 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,026 miles [11,307.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,906 miles [7,895.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Block. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Champaign County: www.co.champaign.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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Block) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Block. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.9684, Longitude: -88.0856 In this case, the coordinates for Block 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 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 Block 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 Block 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 314.726 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.393 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.318 degrees. |