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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Port Byron, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Port Byron and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Port Byron:
    • 41.607581, -90.335052
    • 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 Port Byron
  • 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 Port Byron ...

We found two communities that share the name Port Byron.

Within Illinois, the name Port Byron is unique.

Beyond Illinois, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Kansas
      • Sheridan County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Port Byron [Sheridan County].
    • New York
      • Cayuga County
      • This Port Byron is located in Cayuga County and lies 705 miles [1,134.6 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Port Byron that is located in Rock Island County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cayuga County community of Port Byron.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Port Byron ...

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.

  • Carbon Cliff
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carbon Cliff have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon Cliff
    • Carbon Cliff is located in Rock Island County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,932 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carbon Cliff <4>
  • Cedar Brook
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Brook
    • Cedar Brook is located in Rock Island County
  • Great Oaks
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Oaks
    • Great Oaks is located in Scott County (IA)
  • Green River
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green River have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
    • Green River is located in Henry County
  • Green Rock
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Rock
    • Green Rock is located in Henry County
  • Hickory Hills
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
    • Hickory Hills is located in Henry County
  • Panorama Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panorama Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama Park
    • Panorama Park is located in Scott County (IA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 331 people
  • Rapids City
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rapids City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapids City
    • Rapids City is located in Rock Island County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 962 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rapids City <4>
  • Shady Beach
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Beach
    • Shady Beach is located in Henry County

How Far From Port Byron 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 village such as Port Byron to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Port Byron and extending to:

  • Rock Island, which is the Seat of Rock Island County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<2> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Port Byron to Rock Island, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day 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 130 miles [209.2 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 724 miles [1,165.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 42 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,293 miles [10,127.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,036 miles [11,323.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,924 miles [7,924.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

The official website for Port Byron: www.portbyron.com/

The official website for Rock Island County: www.co.rock-island.il.us/

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Port Byron 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.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Port Byron) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Port Byron. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.6076, Longitude: -90.3351    
<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 Port Byron 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 316.243 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.357 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.987 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024