Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Lake Piasa, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Lake Piasa and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Lake Piasa
- 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 Lake Piasa:
- 39.022825, -90.190666
- 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 Lake Piasa
- 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 Jersey County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jersey County
- Since Lake Piasa is near Macoupin County and also Madison County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Macoupin County
- eBird sighting report for Madison 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 Lake Piasa ...
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.
- Centerville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Macoupin County
- Cottage Hills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottage Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hills
- Cottage Hills is located in Madison County
- Fidelity
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fidelity have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fidelity
- Fidelity is located in Jersey County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fidelity <2>
- Lockhaven
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Miles Station
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miles Station have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles Station
- Miles Station is located in Macoupin County
- Otterville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otterville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
- Otterville is located in Jersey County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Rosedale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast) - Rosewood Heights
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosewood Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood Heights
- Rosewood Heights is located in Madison County
- Shipman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipman
- Shipman is located in Macoupin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 583 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shipman <2>
- Summerville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Summerville is located in Macoupin County
- Wood River
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wood River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood River
- Wood River is located in Madison County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,002 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wood River <2>
How Far From Lake Piasa 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 Lake Piasa to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Lake Piasa and extending to:
- Jerseyville, which is the Seat of Jersey County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Lake Piasa to Jerseyville, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 59 miles [95 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 705 miles [1,134.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,417 miles [10,327.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,153 miles [11,511.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,034 miles [8,101.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Lake Piasa. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Lake Piasa) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lake Piasa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0228, Longitude: -90.1907 In this case, the coordinates for Lake Piasa 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 Lake Piasa 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 316.082 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.82 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.554 degrees. |