Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Illinois City, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Illinois City and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Illinois City
- 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 Illinois City:
- 41.397531, -90.899590
- 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 Illinois City
- 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 Rock Island County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Rock Island County
- Since Illinois City is near Muscatine County and also Mercer County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Muscatine County
- eBird sighting report for Mercer 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Illinois City ...
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.
- Buffalo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buffalo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
- Buffalo is located in Scott County (IA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,257 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buffalo <2>
- Buffalo Prairie
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Prairie
- Buffalo Prairie is located in Rock Island County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buffalo Prairie <2>
- Fairport
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - New Era
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Petersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Petersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersville
- Petersville is located in Mercer County
- Pine Mills ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Mills
- Pine Mills is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Pleasant Prairie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Prairie
- Pleasant Prairie is located in Muscatine County (IA)
- Sweetland Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweetland Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetland Center
- Sweetland Center is located in Muscatine County (IA)
How Far From Illinois City 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 community such as Illinois City to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Illinois City and extending to:
- Rock Island, which is the Seat of Rock Island County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<3> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Illinois City to Rock Island, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over 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 129 miles [207.6 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 750 miles [1,207 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 43 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,324 miles [10,177.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,068 miles [11,374.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,956 miles [7,975.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Illinois City. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Rock Island County: www.co.rock-island.il.us/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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- Illinois City) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Illinois City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.3975, Longitude: -90.8996 In this case, the coordinates for Illinois City have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Illinois City to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.621 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.761 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.324 degrees. |