Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Cowden, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Cowden and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Cowden
- 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 Cowden:
- 39.249216, -88.859407
- 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 Cowden
- 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 Shelby County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Shelby County
- Since Cowden is near Fayette County and also Effingham County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Fayette County
- eBird sighting report for Effingham 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 Cowden ...
We found four communities that share the name Cowden.
Within Illinois, the name Cowden is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
Curious and Interesting Names Near Cowden ...
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.
- Greenland ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Holland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Holliday
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holliday
- Holliday is located in Fayette County
- Magnolia Corner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnolia Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Corner
- Magnolia Corner is located in Fayette County
- Moccasin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moccasin
- Moccasin is located in Effingham County
- Mode
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mode
- Mode is located in Shelby County
- Post Oak
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south) - Tower Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tower Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Hill
- Tower Hill is located in Shelby County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tower Hill <3>
- Twin Churches
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Churches have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Churches
- Twin Churches is located in Fayette County
How Far From Cowden 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 village such as Cowden to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Cowden and extending to:
- Shelbyville, which is the Seat of Shelby County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Cowden to Shelbyville, with an average speed<4> 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 56 miles [90.1 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 633 miles [1,018.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 36 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,356 miles [10,229 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,090 miles [11,410.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,969 miles [7,996.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Cowden. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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 from Point A (ie- Cowden) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cowden. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2492, Longitude: -88.8594 In this case, the coordinates for Cowden have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Cowden 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 315.217 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.856 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.87 degrees. |