Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rockton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rockton and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rockton
- 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 Rockton:
- 42.455525, -89.072452
- 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 Rockton
- 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 Winnebago County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Winnebago County
- Since Rockton is near Rock County and also Boone County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Rock County
- eBird sighting report for Boone 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 Rockton ...
We found ten communities that share the name Rockton.
Within Illinois, the name Rockton is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these ten communities, nine are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Michigan
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ontario
- This Rockton lies 456 miles [733.9 km]<1> to the east of the Rockton that is located in Winnebago County.
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rockton ...
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.
- Argyle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast) - Foxhollow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Garden Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
- Garden Village is located in Rock County (WI)
- Harlem
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Holiday Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Hills
- Holiday Hills is located in Rock County (WI)
- Hunter
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Jonesville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
- Jonesville is located in Winnebago County
- Loves Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loves Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Park
- Loves Park is located in Winnebago County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,382 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loves Park <4>
- Morehaven
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Porters
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Ruby
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Stagecoach Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stagecoach Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Hills
- Stagecoach Hills is located in Winnebago County
- Victory Heights
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Victory Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory Heights
- Victory Heights is located in Rock County (WI)
How Far From Rockton 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 village such as Rockton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rockton and extending to:
- Rockford, which is the Seat of Winnebago County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Rockton to Rockford, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 186 miles [299.3 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 675 miles [1,086.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 39 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,206 miles [9,987.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,949 miles [11,183.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,837 miles [7,784.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Rockton: www.rockton.ws/
The official website for Winnebago County: www.co.winnebago.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- Rockton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rockton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4555, Longitude: -89.0725 |
| <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 Rockton 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> | 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 Rockton 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 315.396 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.508 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.122 degrees. |