Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Hamel, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hamel and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Hamel
- 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 Hamel:
- 38.889164, -89.842603
- 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 Hamel
- 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 Madison County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Madison County
- Since Hamel is near Macoupin County and also Bond County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Macoupin County
- eBird sighting report for Bond 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 Hamel ...
We found one communities that share the name Hamel.
Within Illinois, the name Hamel is unique.
Beyond Illinois, there is another community also named Hamel in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Hamel ...
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.
- Carpenter
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west) - Edwardsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Edwardsville is located in Madison County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,189 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edwardsville <3>
- Fruit
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruit
- Fruit is located in Madison County
- Green Castle
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Castle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Castle
- Green Castle is located in Madison County
- Holiday Shores
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Shores
- Holiday Shores is located in Madison County
- Maple
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Marine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marine
- Marine is located in Madison County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 919 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marine <3>
- Meadowbrook
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadowbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Meadowbrook is located in Madison County
- Prairietown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Prairietown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairietown
- Prairietown is located in Madison County
How Far From Hamel 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 Hamel to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Hamel and extending to:
- Edwardsville, which is the Seat of Madison County, lies just to the Southwest.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 62 miles [99.8 km]<1> to the north (N). If you could walk a straight line from Hamel to Springfield, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 687 miles [1,105.6 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 39 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,410 miles [10,315.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,145 miles [11,498.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,025 miles [8,087 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Hamel. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Madison County: www.co.madison.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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Hamel) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hamel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.8892, Longitude: -89.8426 In this case, the coordinates for Hamel have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <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 Hamel 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 315.849 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.533 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.42 degrees. |