Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Briar Gate, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Briar Gate and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Briar Gate
- 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 Briar Gate:
- 41.966416, -88.422024
- 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 Briar Gate
- 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 Kane County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Kane County
- Since Briar Gate is near Cook County and also DuPage County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cook 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Briar Gate ...
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.
- Burning Tree
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burning Tree have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burning Tree
- Burning Tree is located in Kane County
- Deer Run
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Empire Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Empire Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire Hills
- Empire Hills is located in Kane County
- Fair Oaks
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Far View
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Foxfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Hedgerow
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Homeward Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Homeward Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homeward Hill
- Homeward Hill is located in Kane County
- Kings Mill
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kings Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Mill
- Kings Mill is located in Kane County
- Mary Meadows
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mary Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mary Meadows
- Mary Meadows is located in Kane County
- Plato Corners
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plato Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato Corners
- Plato Corners is located in Kane County
How Far From Briar Gate 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 Briar Gate to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Briar Gate and extending to:
- Geneva, which is the Seat of Kane County, lies just to the Southeast.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 163 miles [262.3 km]<2> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Briar Gate to Springfield, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 634 miles [1,020.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 36 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,207 miles [9,989.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,947 miles [11,180.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,832 miles [7,776.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Briar Gate. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Kane County: www.co.kane.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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Briar Gate) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Briar Gate. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9664, Longitude: -88.4220 In this case, the coordinates for Briar Gate 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 Briar Gate 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 314.961 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.943 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.934 degrees. |