Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Mettawa, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mettawa and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Mettawa
- 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 Mettawa:
- 42.245008, -87.920153
- 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 Mettawa
- 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 Lake County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lake County
- Since Mettawa is near Cook County and also McHenry County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cook County
- eBird sighting report for McHenry 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 Mettawa ...
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.
- Bushs Corners
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bushs Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushs Corners
- Bushs Corners is located in Lake County
- Creamery Corners
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Creamery Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery Corners
- Creamery Corners is located in Lake County
- Deerpath
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Diamond Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Diamond Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Lake
- Diamond Lake is located in Lake County
- Everett
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast) - Green Oaks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Oaks
- Green Oaks is located in Lake County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,882 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Green Oaks <2>
- Half Day
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Indian Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Creek
- Indian Creek is located in Lake County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 538 people
- Kennedy
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Lake Bluff
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Bluff
- Lake Bluff is located in Lake County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,524 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Bluff <2>
- Libertyville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Libertyville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Libertyville is located in Lake County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,155 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Libertyville <2>
- Melody
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Oak Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Prairie View
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie View
- Prairie View is located in Lake County
How Far From Mettawa 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 village such as Mettawa to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Mettawa and extending to:
- Waukegan, which is the Seat of Lake County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Mettawa to Waukegan, 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 192 miles [309 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 615 miles [989.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,175 miles [9,937.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,915 miles [11,128.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,800 miles [7,724.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Mettawa. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Lake County: www.co.lake.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' (or 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- Mettawa) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mettawa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2450, Longitude: -87.9202 In this case, the coordinates for Mettawa 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 Mettawa 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 314.625 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.599 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.603 degrees. |