Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Omaha, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Omaha and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Omaha
- 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 Omaha:
- 37.891196, -88.302641
- 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 Omaha
- 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 Gallatin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Gallatin County
- Since Omaha is near White County and also Saline County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for White County
- eBird sighting report for Saline 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 Omaha ...
We found ten communities that share the name Omaha.
Within Illinois, the name Omaha is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Kansas
- Kearny County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Omaha [Kearny County].
- Morton County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Omaha [Morton County].
- Kentucky
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Texas
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Omaha ...
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.
- Cottonwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottonwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Cottonwood is located in Gallatin County
- Elba
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Eldorado
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eldorado have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
- Eldorado is located in Saline County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,837 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eldorado <4>
- Francis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Herald
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Herald have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herald
- Herald is located in White County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Herald <4>
- Iron
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Middlepoint
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middlepoint have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlepoint
- Middlepoint is located in White County
- Red Bud ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Saline City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saline City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline City
- Saline City is located in Saline County
- Stokes
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Texas City
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas City
- Texas City is located in Saline County
How Far From Omaha 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 Omaha to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Omaha and extending to:
- Shawneetown, which is the Seat of Gallatin County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Omaha to Shawneetown, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours 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 149 miles [239.8 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 613 miles [986.5 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 6,401 miles [10,301.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,129 miles [11,473 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,006 miles [8,056.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Omaha. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Omaha) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Omaha. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8912, Longitude: -88.3026 |
| <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 Omaha 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 Omaha 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 314.817 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.208 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.945 degrees. |