Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Houston, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Houston and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Houston
- 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 Houston:
- 38.161595, -89.781448
- 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 Houston
- 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 Randolph County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Randolph County
- Since Houston is near Saint Clair County and also Washington County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Saint Clair County
- eBird sighting report for Washington 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 Houston ...
We found 28 communities that share the name Houston.
Within Illinois, the name Houston is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another 28 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 28 communities, 27 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Alaska
- This Houston lies 2,975 miles [4,787.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Houston that is located in Randolph County.
- Arkansas
- British Columbia
- This Houston lies 2,051 miles [3,300.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Houston that is located in Randolph County.
- California
- Shasta County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Houston [Shasta County].
- Siskiyou County
- This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Houston [Siskiyou County].
- Colorado
- Delaware
- Kent County
- This Houston is located in Kent County and lies 772 miles [1,242.4 km]<1> to the east of the Houston that is located in Randolph County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kent County community of Houston.
- Sussex County
- This Houston is located in Sussex County and lies 786 miles [1,264.9 km] to the east of the Houston that is located in Randolph County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sussex County community of Houston.
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Chickasaw County
- This Houston is located in Chickasaw County and lies 297 miles [478 km]<1> to the south of the Houston that is located in Randolph County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chickasaw County community of Houston.
- Lauderdale County
- This Houston is located in Lauderdale County and lies 401 miles [645.3 km] to the south of the Houston that is located in Randolph County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lauderdale County community of Houston.
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- North Carolina
- Rowan County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Houston [Rowan County].
- Union County
- This Houston is located in Union County and lies 553 miles [890 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Houston that is located in Randolph County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Union County community of Houston.
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Houston ...
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.
- Blair
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
- Blair is located in Randolph County
- Diamond Cross
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Diamond Cross have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Cross
- Diamond Cross is located in Randolph County
- Eden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Kampenville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kampenville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kampenville
- Kampenville is located in Randolph County
- Lively Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lively Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lively Grove
- Lively Grove is located in Washington County
- Marigold
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest) - Prairie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Randolph
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south) - Red Bud
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bud
- Red Bud is located in Randolph County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,442 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Red Bud <5>
- Roots
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Houston 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 Houston to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Houston and extending to:
- Chester, which is the Seat of Randolph County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Houston to Chester, with an average speed<6> 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 112 miles [180.2 km] to the north (N). 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 689 miles [1,108.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,444 miles [10,370.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,177 miles [11,550.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,056 miles [8,136.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Houston. 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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Houston) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Houston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.1616, Longitude: -89.7814 In this case, the coordinates for Houston 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 Houston, 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 Houston 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 Houston 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 315.782 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.356 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.561 degrees. |