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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 Risk, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Risk and the surrounding area.
- 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 Risk:
- 40.670868, -88.405332
- 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.
- Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Risk
- 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 Livingston County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Livingston County
- Since Risk is near McLean County and also Ford County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for McLean County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Ford 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:
- Open the Waymark.com report for Risk
Curious and Interesting Names Near Risk ...
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.
- Anchor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cereal
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cereal is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cereal
- Charlotte
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Charlotte is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte
- Cooksville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Derby
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Derby is located in Ford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
- Harpster
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Harpster is located in Ford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harpster
- Melvin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Piper City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Hill is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Rugby
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Rugby is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Wing
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Wing is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wing
How Far From Risk 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 community such as Risk to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Risk and extending to:
- Pontiac, which is the Seat of Livingston County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<2> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Risk to Pontiac, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 89 miles [143.2 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 615 miles [989.7 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,269 miles [10,089 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,006 miles [11,275.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,888 miles [7,866.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Risk) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Risk to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Risk. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.6709, Longitude: -88.4053 In this case, the coordinates for Risk have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.944 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.741 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.283 degrees. |
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