Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Cortland, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Cortland and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Cortland
- 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 Cortland:
- 41.919418, -88.681135
- 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 Cortland
- 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 DeKalb County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for DeKalb County
- Since Cortland is near Kane County and also Ogle County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Kane County
- eBird sighting report for Ogle 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 Cortland ...
We found six communities that share the name Cortland.
Within Illinois, the name Cortland is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Indiana
- Nebraska
- New York
- Ohio
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Cortland ...
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.
- Big Rock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- Big Rock is located in Kane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,121 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Big Rock <4>
- Blackberry Woods
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackberry Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackberry Woods
- Blackberry Woods is located in Kane County
- Charter Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Grove
- Charter Grove is located in DeKalb County
- Clare
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clare
- Clare is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clare <4>
- Empire Hills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Empire Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire Hills
- Empire Hills is located in Kane County
- Far View
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east) - Five Points
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Points have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Five Points is located in DeKalb County
- Foxfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Hedgerow
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east) - High Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for High Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
- High Point is located in Kane County
- Indian Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Creek
- Indian Creek is located in Kane County
- Kaneville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kaneville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaneville
- Kaneville is located in Kane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kaneville <4>
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Kings Mill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kings Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Mill
- Kings Mill is located in Kane County
- Malta
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malta have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
- Malta is located in DeKalb County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,161 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Malta <4>
- Maple Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Park
- Maple Park is located in Kane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,384 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maple Park <4>
- Mary Meadows
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mary Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mary Meadows
- Mary Meadows is located in Kane County
- Native Prairie
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Native Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Native Prairie
- Native Prairie is located in Kane County
- Still Meadows
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Still Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Still Meadows
- Still Meadows is located in Kane County
- Kings Mill
How Far From Cortland 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 town such as Cortland to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Cortland and extending to:
- Sycamore, which is the Seat of DeKalb County, lies just to the North.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 156 miles [251.1 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Cortland to Springfield, with an average speed<5>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 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 646 miles [1,039.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,218 miles [10,006.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,959 miles [11,199.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,845 miles [7,797.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Cortland: www.cortlandil.org/
The official website for DeKalb County: www.dekalbcounty.org/
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' (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- Cortland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cortland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9194, Longitude: -88.6811 In this case, the coordinates for Cortland have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Cortland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Cortland 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 315.134 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.134 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.076 degrees. |