Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rock Island, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rock Island and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rock Island
- 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 Rock Island:
- 41.493758, -90.572776
- 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 Rock Island
- 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 Rock Island County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Rock Island County
- Since Rock Island is near Scott County and also Henry County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Scott County
- eBird sighting report for Henry 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 Rock Island ...
We found 21 communities that share the name Rock Island.
Within Illinois, the name Rock Island is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another 21 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 21 communities, nineteen are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Broward County
- This Rock Island is located in Broward County and lies 1,213 miles [1,952.1 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Rock Island that is located in Rock Island County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Broward County community of Rock Island.
- Collier County
- This Rock Island is located in Collier County and lies 1,184 miles [1,905.5 km] to the south southeast of the Rock Island that is located in Rock Island County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Collier County community of Rock Island.
- Idaho
- Washington County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Idaho community of Rock Island [Washington County].
- Indiana
- Marion County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Indiana community of Rock Island [Marion County].
- Kansas
- Brown County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Rock Island [Brown County].
- Grant County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Rock Island [Grant County].
- Manitoba
- We haven't found the location of this community yet.
- Massachusetts
- Norfolk County
- This Rock Island is located in Norfolk County and lies 1,007 miles [1,620.6 km]<1> to the east of the Rock Island that is located in Rock Island County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Norfolk County community of Rock Island.
- Nevada
- Storey County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Storey County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Storey County community of Rock Island.
- Oklahoma
- Canadian County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Oklahoma community of Rock Island [Canadian County].
- Le Flore County
- This Rock Island is located in Le Flore County and lies 484 miles [778.9 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Rock Island that is located in Rock Island County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Le Flore County community of Rock Island.
- Quebec
- This Rock Island lies 957 miles [1,540.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Rock Island that is located in Rock Island County.
- Tennessee
- Warren County
- This Rock Island is located in Warren County and lies 475 miles [764.4 km]<1> to the southeast of the Rock Island that is located in Rock Island County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Rock Island.
- Texas
- Colorado County
- This Rock Island is located in Colorado County and lies 891 miles [1,433.9 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Rock Island that is located in Rock Island County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Colorado County community of Rock Island.
- Liberty County
- This Rock Island is located in Liberty County and lies 821 miles [1,321.3 km] to the south southwest of the Rock Island that is located in Rock Island County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Liberty County community of Rock Island.
- Marion County
- This Rock Island is located in Marion County and lies 636 miles [1,023.5 km] to the south southwest of the Rock Island that is located in Rock Island County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Rock Island.
- Polk County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Rock Island [Polk County].
- Waller County
- This Rock Island is located in Waller County and lies 840 miles [1,351.8 km] to the south southwest of the Rock Island that is located in Rock Island County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Waller County community of Rock Island.
- Washington County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Washington County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Rock Island.
- Virginia
- Buckingham County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Rock Island [Buckingham County].
- Washington
- Douglas County
- This Rock Island is located in Douglas County and lies 1,503 miles [2,418.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rock Island that is located in Rock Island County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Douglas County community of Rock Island.
- Florida
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rock Island ...
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.
- Black Hawk
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Hawk have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Hawk
- Black Hawk is located in Scott County (IA)
- Chapel Hill ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chapel Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Hill
- Chapel Hill is located in Scott County (IA)
- Coal Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coal Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
- Coal Valley is located in Rock Island County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,719 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coal Valley <5>
- Fruitland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Ginger Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ginger Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ginger Hill
- Ginger Hill is located in Rock Island County
- Green Acres
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Green Acres is located in Scott County (IA)
- Jamestown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Little Groves
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Groves have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Groves
- Little Groves is located in Scott County (IA)
- Oak Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Panorama Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panorama Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> 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
- Poplar Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poplar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
- Poplar Grove is located in Rock Island County
- Walnut Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Walnut Grove is located in Scott County (IA)
How Far From Rock Island 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 city such as Rock Island to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rock Island and extending to:
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 127 miles [204.4 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Rock Island to Springfield, with an average speed<6>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 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 735 miles [1,182.9 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<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,307 miles [10,150.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,051 miles [11,347.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,939 miles [7,948.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rock Island. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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> | 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- Rock Island) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rock Island. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4938, Longitude: -90.5728 |
| <2> | 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 Rock Island 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. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Rock Island, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Rock Island to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.401 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.523 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.136 degrees. |