RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Pope County >> Dixon Springs >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Dixon Springs, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Dixon Springs and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Dixon Springs:
    • 37.380182, -88.665746
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Dixon Springs
  • 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 Pope County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Pope County
    • Since Dixon Springs is near Johnson County and also Massac County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Johnson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Massac 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Dixon Springs

Communities Also Named Dixon Springs ...

We found one communities that are also named Dixon Springs.

Within Illinois, the name Dixon Springs is unique.

Beyond Illinois, there is another community also named Dixon Springs in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Tennessee
      • Smith County
      • This Dixon Springs is located in Smith County and lies 160 miles [257.5 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Dixon Springs that is located in Pope County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Smith County community of Dixon Springs.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Dixon Springs ...

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 Bay
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Cross Roads ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Cross Roads is located in Johnson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Roads
  • Crossroads
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Crossroads is located in Johnson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads
  • Flatwoods
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Flatwoods is located in Johnson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
  • Lewis Corner
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Lewis Corner is located in Pope County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis Corner
  • Rising Sun
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Rising Sun is located in Pope County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
  • Rock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Rosebud
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Rosebud is located in Pope County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebud
  • Round Knob
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Round Knob is located in Massac County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Knob
  • Temple Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Temple Hill is located in Pope County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple Hill

How Far From Dixon Springs 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 Dixon Springs to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Dixon Springs and extending to:

  • Golconda, which is the Seat of Pope County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Dixon Springs to Golconda, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 174 miles [280 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 639 miles [1,028.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 37 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> 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).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,167 miles [11,534.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,044 miles [8,117.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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- Dixon Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Dixon Springs to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dixon Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.3802, Longitude: -88.6657    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.03 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.383 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.231 degrees.