Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Jamaica, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Jamaica and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Jamaica
- 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 Jamaica:
- 39.991147, -87.806694
- 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 Jamaica
- 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 Vermilion County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Vermilion County
- Since Jamaica is near Edgar County and also Champaign County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Edgar County
- eBird sighting report for Champaign 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 Jamaica ...
We found six communities that share the name Jamaica.
Within Illinois, the name Jamaica is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Nebraska
- New York
- Vermont
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Jamaica ...
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.
- Archie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archie
- Archie is located in Vermilion County
- Belgium
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast) - Brothers
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north) - Bucktown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Georgetown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Georgetown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Georgetown is located in Vermilion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,145 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Georgetown <3>
- Glenburn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenburn
- Glenburn is located in Vermilion County
- Hartshorn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast) - Homer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Homer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Homer is located in Champaign County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,143 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer <3>
- Kellyville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kellyville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyville
- Kellyville is located in Vermilion County
- Mabel
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast) - Maizetown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Unionville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unionville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Unionville is located in Vermilion County
How Far From Jamaica 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 Jamaica to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Jamaica and extending to:
- Danville, which is the Seat of Vermilion County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Jamaica to Danville, with an average speed<4> 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 four to five hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 98 miles [157.7 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 578 miles [930.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 33 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,280 miles [10,106.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,014 miles [11,287.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,893 miles [7,874.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Jamaica. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Vermilion County: www.co.vermilion.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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Jamaica) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Jamaica. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.9911, Longitude: -87.8067 In this case, the coordinates for Jamaica 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> | 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 Jamaica 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 314.544 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.188 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.179 degrees. |