RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Lake County >> Echo Lake >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Echo Lake, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Echo Lake 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 Echo Lake:
    • 42.208635, -88.086189
    • 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 Echo Lake
  • 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 Lake County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lake County
    • Since Echo Lake is near Cook County and also McHenry County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cook County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for McHenry 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 Echo Lake

Communities Also Named Echo Lake ...

We found ten communities that are also named Echo Lake.

Within Illinois, the name Echo Lake is unique.

Beyond Illinois, we know of ten communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these ten communities, nine are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • El Dorado County
      • This Echo Lake is located in El Dorado County and lies 1,683 miles [2,708.5 km]<1> to the west of the Echo Lake that is located in Lake County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the El Dorado County community of Echo Lake.
    • Colorado
      • Clear Creek County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Echo Lake [Clear Creek County].
    • Minnesota
      • Ramsey County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Minnesota community of Echo Lake [Ramsey County].
    • Montana
      • Granite County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Montana community of Echo Lake [Granite County].
    • New Jersey
      • Passaic County
      • This Echo Lake is located in Passaic County and lies 710 miles [1,142.6 km]<1> to the east of the Echo Lake that is located in Lake County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Passaic County community of Echo Lake.
    • Nova Scotia
      • We haven't found the location of this community yet.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Monroe County
      • This Echo Lake is located in Monroe County and lies 676 miles [1,087.9 km]<1> to the east of the Echo Lake that is located in Lake County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monroe County community of Echo Lake.
    • Rhode Island
      • Providence County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Rhode Island community of Echo Lake [Providence County].
    • Washington
      • King County
      • This Echo Lake is located in King County and lies 1,701 miles [2,737.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Echo Lake that is located in Lake County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the King County community of Echo Lake.
      • Snohomish County
      • This Echo Lake is located in Snohomish County and lies 1,687 miles [2,715 km] to the west northwest of the Echo Lake that is located in Lake County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Snohomish County community of Echo Lake.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Echo Lake ...

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.

  • Ancient Oaks
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Ancient Oaks is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ancient Oaks
  • Beaver Creek
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Beaver Creek is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Creek
  • Bishops Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bishops Ridge is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishops Ridge
  • Cedar Creek
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Cedar Creek is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
  • Chapel Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Chapel Hill is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Hill
  • Copperfield
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Copperfield is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copperfield
  • Deer Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Forest Lake
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Forest Lake is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Lake
  • Heather Highlands
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Heather Highlands is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heather Highlands
  • Herons Crossing
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Herons Crossing is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herons Crossing
  • Hickory Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hickory Hills is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
  • Highview
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Highview is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highview
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Lake Corner
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Corner is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Corner
    • Lake View Highlands
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake View Highlands is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View Highlands
    • Lake Zurich
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Meadowridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Meadowridge is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowridge
    • Pheasant Knolls
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Pheasant Knolls is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant Knolls
    • Ponds
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Ponds is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponds
    • Prairie Creek
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Prairie Creek is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Creek
    • Quail Run
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Quail Run is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Run
    • Rambling Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Rambling Hills is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rambling Hills
    • Ravens Wing
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Ravens Wing is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravens Wing
    • Squires
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Squires is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squires
    • Thornfield
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Thornfield is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornfield
    • Timber Trails
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Timber Trails is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Trails
    • White Birch Lakes
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • White Birch Lakes is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Birch Lakes

How Far From Echo Lake 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 Echo Lake to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Waukegan, which is the Seat of Lake County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Echo Lake to Waukegan, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 186 miles [299.3 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 622 miles [1,001 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 36 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,183 miles [9,950.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,923 miles [11,141.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,808 miles [7,737.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

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- Echo Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Echo Lake 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.
<3>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 Echo Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Echo Lake 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 Echo Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2086, Longitude: -88.0862       In this case, the coordinates for Echo Lake have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.736 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.72 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.697 degrees.