Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ridgely, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ridgely and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ridgely
- 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 Ridgely:
- 39.831439, -89.633989
- 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 Ridgely
- 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 Sangamon County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Sangamon County
- Since Ridgely is near Menard County and also Logan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Menard County
- eBird sighting report for Logan 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 Ridgely ...
We found four communities that share the name Ridgely.
Within Illinois, the name Ridgely is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these four communities, three are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Manitoba
- We haven't found the location of this community yet.
- Maryland
- Missouri
- Tennessee
- Manitoba
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ridgely ...
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.
- Archer
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Clear Lake
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clear Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Clear Lake is located in Sangamon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Cody
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Grandview
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Green Acres
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Green Acres is located in Sangamon County
- Jerome
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Jess
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Mildred
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Peabody
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Shale Bluff
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shale Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shale Bluff
- Shale Bluff is located in Sangamon County
How Far From Ridgely 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 community such as Ridgely to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ridgely and extending to:
- Springfield, which is the Seat of Sangamon County, lies just to the South Southwest.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies just to the south southwest (SSW).
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 675 miles [1,086.3 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Ridgely to White House, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 39 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 27 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,356 miles [10,229 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,093 miles [11,415.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,975 miles [8,006.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ridgely. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Sangamon County: www.co.sangamon.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ridgely) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ridgely. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.8314, Longitude: -89.6340 In this case, the coordinates for Ridgely have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 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. |
| <4> | 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 Ridgely to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.74 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.537 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.093 degrees. |