Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Oraville, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Oraville and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Oraville
- 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 Oraville:
- 37.865102, -89.384002
- 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 Oraville
- 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 Jackson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson County
- Since Oraville is near Perry County and also Williamson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Perry County
- eBird sighting report for Williamson 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 Oraville ...
We found one communities that share the name Oraville.
Within Illinois, the name Oraville is unique.
Beyond Illinois, there is another community also named Oraville in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Oraville ...
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.
- De Soto
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for De Soto have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- De Soto is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,503 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for De Soto <3>
- Denmark
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Denmark is located in Perry County
- Denny
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north) - Dowell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dowell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Dowell is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 385 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dowell <3>
- Dry Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Elkville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkville
- Elkville is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 864 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkville <3>
- Glenn
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west) - Grubbs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Jacob
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacob
- Jacob is located in Jackson County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jacob <3>
- Poplar Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poplar Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Ridge
- Poplar Ridge is located in Jackson County
- Sand Ridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Ridge
- Sand Ridge is located in Jackson County
- Texas Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Texas Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas Junction
- Texas Junction is located in Jackson County
How Far From Oraville 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 Oraville to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Oraville and extending to:
- Murphysboro, which is the Seat of Jackson County, lies just to the South Southeast.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 133 miles [214 km]<1> to the north (N). If you could drive a straight line from Oraville to Springfield, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 671 miles [1,079.9 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 39 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,444 miles [10,370.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,174 miles [11,545.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,052 miles [8,130.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Oraville. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Jackson County: www.co.jackson.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Oraville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oraville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8651, Longitude: -89.3840 |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Oraville 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 315.512 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.004 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.446 degrees. |