Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Laura, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Laura and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Laura
- 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 Laura:
- 40.922269, -89.924503
- 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 Laura
- 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 Peoria County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Peoria County
- Since Laura is near Knox County and also Stark County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Knox County
- eBird sighting report for Stark 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 Laura ...
We found seven communities that share the name Laura.
Within Illinois, the name Laura is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seven communities, six are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Missouri
- Ohio
- Saskatchewan
- This Laura lies 1,113 miles [1,791.2 km]<2> to the northwest of the Laura that is located in Peoria County.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Laura ...
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
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Knox County
- Elba Center
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elba Center have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba Center
- Elba Center is located in Knox County
- Eugene
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Oak Run
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west) - Princeville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princeville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeville
- Princeville is located in Peoria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,663 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Princeville <5>
- Slackwater ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slackwater have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slackwater
- Slackwater is located in Stark County
- Stark
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast) - Williamsfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamsfield have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsfield
- Williamsfield is located in Knox County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 538 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Williamsfield <5>
- Wyoming
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
- Wyoming is located in Stark County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,253 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wyoming <5>
How Far From Laura 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 Laura to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Laura and extending to:
- Peoria, which is the Seat of Peoria County, lies 23 miles [37 km]<2> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Laura to Peoria, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 79 miles [127.1 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 696 miles [1,120.1 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<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,313 miles [10,159.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,053 miles [11,350.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,938 miles [7,946.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Laura. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Peoria County: www.co.peoria.il.us/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Laura, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Laura) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Laura. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.9223, Longitude: -89.9245 |
| <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 Laura 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 Laura 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 315.956 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.935 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.96 degrees. |