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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Decatur, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Decatur and the surrounding area.
- 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 Decatur:
- 39.855077, -88.945411
- 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 Decatur
- 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 Decatur ...
We found twenty communities that share the name Decatur.
Within Illinois, the name Decatur is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another twenty communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Morgan County
- This Decatur is located in Morgan County and lies 379 miles [609.9 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Decatur that is located in Macon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morgan County community of Decatur.
- Arkansas
- Benton County
- This Decatur is located in Benton County and lies 385 miles [619.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Decatur that is located in Macon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Benton County community of Decatur.
- Colorado
- Summit County
- This community is historic<2> and although located in Summit County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Summit County community of Decatur.
- Georgia
- DeKalb County
- This Decatur is located in DeKalb County and lies 492 miles [791.8 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Decatur that is located in Macon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the DeKalb County community of Decatur.
- Indiana
- Adams County
- This Decatur is located in Adams County and lies 221 miles [355.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Decatur that is located in Macon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Decatur.
- Iowa
- Decatur County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Iowa community of Decatur [Decatur County].
- Kansas
- Decatur County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Decatur [Decatur County].
- Kentucky
- Russell County
- This Decatur is located in Russell County and lies 284 miles [457.1 km]<1> to the southeast of the Decatur that is located in Macon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Russell County community of Decatur.
- Michigan
- Van Buren County
- This Decatur is located in Van Buren County and lies 219 miles [352.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the Decatur that is located in Macon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Van Buren County community of Decatur.
- Mississippi
- Newton County
- This Decatur is located in Newton County and lies 512 miles [824 km]<1> to the south of the Decatur that is located in Macon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Newton County community of Decatur.
- Missouri
- Cape Girardeau County
- This Decatur is located in Cape Girardeau County and lies 179 miles [288.1 km]<1> to the south of the Decatur that is located in Macon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cape Girardeau County community of Decatur.
- Cole County
- This Decatur is located in Cole County and lies 209 miles [336.4 km] to the west southwest of the Decatur that is located in Macon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cole County community of Decatur.
- Nebraska
- Burt County
- This Decatur is located in Burt County and lies 408 miles [656.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Decatur that is located in Macon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Burt County community of Decatur.
- New York
- Otsego County
- This Decatur is located in Otsego County and lies 761 miles [1,224.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Decatur that is located in Macon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Otsego County community of Decatur.
- Ohio
- Brown County
- This Decatur is located in Brown County and lies 288 miles [463.5 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Decatur that is located in Macon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brown County community of Decatur.
- Pennsylvania
- Mifflin County
- This Decatur is located in Mifflin County and lies 607 miles [976.9 km]<1> to the east of the Decatur that is located in Macon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mifflin County community of Decatur.
- Tennessee
- Meigs County
- This Decatur is located in Meigs County and lies 375 miles [603.5 km]<1> to the southeast of the Decatur that is located in Macon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Meigs County community of Decatur.
- Texas
- Wise County
- This Decatur is located in Wise County and lies 662 miles [1,065.4 km]<1> to the southwest of the Decatur that is located in Macon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wise County community of Decatur.
- Virginia
- Rockbridge County
- This Decatur is located in Rockbridge County and lies 534 miles [859.4 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Decatur that is located in Macon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rockbridge County community of Decatur.
- Stafford County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Decatur [Stafford County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Decatur ...
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.
- Blue Mound
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Mound have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mound
- Blue Mound is located in Macon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,065 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Mound <5>
- Boody
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bulldog Crossing
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bulldog Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulldog Crossing
- Bulldog Crossing is located in Macon County
- Harristown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harristown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harristown
- Harristown is located in Macon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,278 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harristown <5>
- Lake City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
- Lake City is located in Moultrie County
- Larkdale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Larkdale have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkdale
- Larkdale is located in Macon County
- Long Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Creek
- Long Creek is located in Macon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,262 people
- Longview Place
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longview Place have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview Place
- Longview Place is located in Macon County
- Prairie Hall
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Hall have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Hall
- Prairie Hall is located in Macon County
How Far From Decatur 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 city such as Decatur to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Decatur and extending to:
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 37 miles [59.5 km]<1> to the west (W). If you could walk a straight line from Decatur to Springfield, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 638 miles [1,026.8 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,329 miles [10,185.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,065 miles [11,370 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,946 miles [7,959.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Decatur: www.ci.decatur.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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Decatur) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Decatur. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.8551, Longitude: -88.9454 |
<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 Decatur, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
<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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Decatur 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 Decatur 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 315.287 degrees. |
<9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.021 degrees. |
<10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.757 degrees. |
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