Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Dowell, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Dowell and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Dowell
- 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 Dowell:
- 37.939571, -89.239137
- 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 Dowell
- 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 Dowell is near Perry County and also Franklin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Perry 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 Dowell ...
We found three communities that share the name Dowell.
Within Illinois, the name Dowell is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Tennessee
Curious and Interesting Names Near Dowell ...
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
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Christopher
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Christopher have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christopher
- Christopher is located in Franklin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,686 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Christopher <4>
- De Soto
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for De Soto have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- De Soto is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,503 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for De Soto <4>
- Denny
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Elkville
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- 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 <4>
- Grubbs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Lake Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Creek
- Lake Creek is located in Franklin County
- Mitchell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Reeds Station
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reeds Station have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Station
- Reeds Station is located in Jackson County
How Far From Dowell to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a village such as Dowell to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Dowell and extending to:
- Murphysboro, which is the Seat of Jackson County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Dowell to Murphysboro, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 129 miles [207.6 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 662 miles [1,065.4 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,434 miles [10,354.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,165 miles [11,530.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,043 miles [8,115.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Dowell. 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Dowell) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dowell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9396, Longitude: -89.2391 In this case, the coordinates for Dowell 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 Dowell, 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 Dowell 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 315.421 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.91 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.362 degrees. |