Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Prophetstown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Prophetstown and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Prophetstown
- 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 Prophetstown:
- 41.671123, -89.936048
- 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 Prophetstown
- 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 Whiteside County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Whiteside County
- Since Prophetstown is near Henry County and also Bureau County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Henry County
- eBird sighting report for Bureau 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 Prophetstown ...
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.
- Aliceville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aliceville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aliceville
- Aliceville is located in Henry County
- Erie
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
- Erie is located in Whiteside County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,482 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erie <2>
- Leon Corners
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leon Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon Corners
- Leon Corners is located in Whiteside County
- Love
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast) - Mineral Springs ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
- Mineral Springs is located in Whiteside County
- Oliver
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest) - Round Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Round Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Grove
- Round Grove is located in Whiteside County
- Union Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Union Grove is located in Whiteside County
- Unionville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unionville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Unionville is located in Whiteside County
How Far From Prophetstown to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Prophetstown to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Prophetstown and extending to:
- Morrison, which is the Seat of Whiteside County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Prophetstown to Morrison, 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 131 miles [210.8 km] to the south (S). 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 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 705 miles [1,134.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,276 miles [10,100.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,018 miles [11,294.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,906 miles [7,895.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Prophetstown. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Whiteside County: www.whiteside.org/
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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Prophetstown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Prophetstown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.6711, Longitude: -89.9360 |
| <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 Prophetstown 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 315.974 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.059 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.771 degrees. |