Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Lotus, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Lotus and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Lotus
- 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 Lotus:
- 40.319658, -88.455398
- 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 Lotus
- 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 Champaign County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Champaign County
- Since Lotus is near McLean County and also Piatt County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for McLean County
- eBird sighting report for Piatt 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 Lotus ...
We found eight communities that share the name Lotus.
Within Illinois, the name Lotus is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Florida
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Ontario
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Lotus ...
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.
- Arrowsmith
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arrowsmith have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowsmith
- Arrowsmith is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arrowsmith <4>
- Centerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Piatt County
- Derby
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Dewey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dewey have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewey
- Dewey is located in Champaign County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dewey <4>
- Empire
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west) - Farmer City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmer City
- Farmer City is located in De Witt County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,906 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farmer City <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Farmer City
- From Lotus to Farmer City
- Fisher
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fisher have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Fisher is located in Champaign County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,911 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fisher <4>
- Galesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Galesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galesville
- Galesville is located in Piatt County
- Harpster
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Harris
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Prospect
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
- Prospect is located in Champaign County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Prospect
- From Lotus to Prospect
- Rising
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast) - Weedman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
How Far From Lotus 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 Lotus to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Lotus and extending to:
- Urbana, which is the Seat of Champaign County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Lotus to Urbana, with an average speed<5> 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 6 hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 73 miles [117.5 km] to the west southwest (WSW). 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 614 miles [988.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,288 miles [10,119.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,024 miles [11,304 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,905 miles [7,893.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Lotus. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Champaign County: www.co.champaign.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Lotus) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lotus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3197, Longitude: -88.4554 |
| <2> | 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 Lotus 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. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Lotus to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.973 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.725 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.402 degrees. |