Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Elba, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Elba and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Elba
- 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 Elba:
- 37.826648, -88.326496
- 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 Elba
- 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 Gallatin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Gallatin County
- Since Elba is near Saline County and also White County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Saline County
- eBird sighting report for White 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 Elba ...
We found 21 communities that share the name Elba.
Within Illinois, the name Elba is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another 21 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 21 communities, twenty are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Idaho
- Kansas
- Anderson 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 Elba [Anderson County].
- Chase County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Elba [Chase County].
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- New York
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Lincoln 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 Oklahoma community of Elba [Lincoln County].
- Rogers County
- This Elba is located in Rogers County and lies 416 miles [669.5 km]<1> to the west of the Elba that is located in Gallatin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rogers County community of Elba.
- Ontario
- This Elba lies 605 miles [973.7 km]<1> to the northeast of the Elba that is located in Gallatin County.
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Virginia
- Henrico 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 Virginia community of Elba [Henrico County].
- Pittsylvania County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Elba [Pittsylvania County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Elba ...
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.
- Cottage Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Grove
- Cottage Grove is located in Saline County
- Cottonwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottonwood have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Cottonwood is located in Gallatin County
- Eldorado
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eldorado have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
- Eldorado is located in Saline County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,837 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eldorado <5>
- Equality
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Equality
- Equality is located in Gallatin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 512 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Equality <5>
- Francis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
- Junction is located in Gallatin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Junction <5>
- Middlepoint
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middlepoint have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlepoint
- Middlepoint is located in White County
- Red Bud ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Saline City
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saline City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline City
- Saline City is located in Saline County
- Texas City
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas City
- Texas City is located in Saline County
How Far From Elba 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 Elba to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Elba and extending to:
- Shawneetown, which is the Seat of Gallatin County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Elba to Shawneetown, with an average speed<6> 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 152 miles [244.6 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 615 miles [989.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,405 miles [10,307.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,133 miles [11,479.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,010 miles [8,062.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Elba. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Elba) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Elba. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8266, Longitude: -88.3265 In this case, the coordinates for Elba 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 Elba, 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 Elba 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 Elba 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 314.83 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.214 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.972 degrees. |