Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in De Soto, we use the following websites to find information relevant to De Soto and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for De Soto
- 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 De Soto:
- 37.816309, -89.226931
- 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 De Soto
- 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 Jackson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson County
- Since De Soto is near Williamson County and also Franklin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Williamson County
- eBird sighting report for Franklin 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 De Soto ...
We found ten communities that share the name De Soto.
Within Illinois, the name De Soto is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- Georgia
- Floyd County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of De Soto [Floyd County].
- Sumter County
- This De Soto is located in Sumter County and lies 499 miles [803.1 km]<2> to the southeast of the De Soto that is located in Jackson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sumter County community of De Soto.
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near De Soto ...
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.
- Bush
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Carbondale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbondale
- Carbondale is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,036 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carbondale <5>
- Carterville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carterville
- Carterville is located in Williamson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,834 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carterville <5>
- Chittyville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chittyville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chittyville
- Chittyville is located in Williamson County
- Crainville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crainville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crainville
- Crainville is located in Williamson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
- Dowell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dowell have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Dowell is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 385 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dowell <5>
- Elkville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkville
- Elkville is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 864 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkville <5>
- Evergreen Terrace
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evergreen Terrace have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Terrace
- Evergreen Terrace is located in Jackson County
- Reeds Station
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reeds Station have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Station
- Reeds Station is located in Jackson County
- Sunnyside
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Texas Junction
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Texas Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas Junction
- Texas Junction is located in Jackson County
How Far From De Soto 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 village such as De Soto to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in De Soto and extending to:
- Murphysboro, which is the Seat of Jackson County, lies just to the West Southwest.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 137 miles [220.5 km]<2> to the north (N). If you could drive a straight line from De Soto to Springfield, with an average speed<6>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 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 663 miles [1,067 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,440 miles [10,364.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,170 miles [11,539 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,048 miles [8,124 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for De Soto. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Jackson County: www.co.jackson.il.us/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 De Soto, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- De Soto) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in De Soto. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8163, Longitude: -89.2269 In this case, the coordinates for De Soto have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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 De Soto 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 De Soto to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.408 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.879 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.385 degrees. |