Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Griffin, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Griffin and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Griffin
- 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 Griffin:
- 41.239088, -90.489404
- 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 Griffin
- 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 Mercer County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Mercer County
- Since Griffin is near Henry County and also Knox County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Henry County
- eBird sighting report for Knox 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 Griffin ...
We found 28 communities that share the name Griffin.
There is one other community in Illinois which is also named Griffin.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another 27 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 27 communities, 26 are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Located In Illinois ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Cherokee County
- This Griffin is located in Cherokee County and lies 551 miles [886.7 km]<2> to the south southeast of the Griffin that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cherokee County community of Griffin.
- Tuscaloosa 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 Alabama community of Griffin [Tuscaloosa County].
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Florida
- Hillsborough County
- This Griffin is located in Hillsborough County and lies 1,014 miles [1,631.9 km]<2> to the south southeast of the Griffin that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Griffin.
- Polk County
- This Griffin is located in Polk County and lies 1,027 miles [1,652.8 km] to the south southeast of the Griffin that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Polk County community of Griffin.
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Bullitt 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 Kentucky community of Griffin [Bullitt County].
- Wayne County
- This Griffin is located in Wayne County and lies 439 miles [706.5 km]<2> to the southeast of the Griffin that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Griffin.
- Louisiana
- Franklin Parish
- This Griffin is located in Franklin Parish and lies 638 miles [1,026.8 km]<2> to the south of the Griffin that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin Parish community of Griffin.
- Madison Parish
- 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 Louisiana community of Griffin [Madison Parish].
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Christian County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Missouri community of Griffin [Christian County].
- Schuyler County
- Although located in Schuyler County, we don't know the location within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Schuyler County community of Griffin.
- New York
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Fayette County
- This Griffin is located in Fayette County and lies 564 miles [907.7 km]<2> to the east of the Griffin that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Griffin.
- Somerset 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 Pennsylvania community of Griffin [Somerset County].
- Westmoreland 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 Pennsylvania community of Griffin [Westmoreland County].
- Quebec
- This Griffin lies 957 miles [1,540.1 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Griffin that is located in Mercer County.
- Saskatchewan
- This Griffin lies 853 miles [1,372.8 km]<2> to the northwest of the Griffin that is located in Mercer County.
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Griffin ...
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.
- Alexis
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexis
- Alexis is located in Mercer County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 778 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alexis <4>
- Alpha
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alpha have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
- Alpha is located in Henry County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 626 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alpha <4>
- Cable
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Lynn Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lynn Center have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn Center
- Lynn Center is located in Henry County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lynn Center <4>
- Martin ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Oak Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north) - Orion
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- Orion is located in Henry County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,776 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orion <4>
- Preemption
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Preemption have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preemption
- Preemption is located in Mercer County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Preemption <4>
- Shale City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shale City have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shale City
- Shale City is located in Mercer County
- Sugar Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Sugar Grove is located in Mercer County
- Sunny Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunny Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Hill
- Sunny Hill is located in Henry County
How Far From Griffin to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Griffin to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Griffin and extending to:
- Aledo, which is the Seat of Mercer County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Griffin to Aledo, with an average speed<6> 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 109 miles [175.4 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 728 miles [1,171.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 42 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,317 miles [10,166.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,060 miles [11,362 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,947 miles [7,961.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Griffin. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Griffin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | 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- Griffin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Griffin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.2391, Longitude: -90.4894 In this case, the coordinates for Griffin have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Griffin 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <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 Griffin 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 316.341 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.419 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.159 degrees. |