Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sefton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sefton and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sefton
- 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 Sefton:
- 39.070877, -88.955620
- 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 Sefton
- 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 Fayette County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Fayette County
- Since Sefton is near Shelby County and also Effingham County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Shelby County
- eBird sighting report for Effingham 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 Sefton ...
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.
- Bluff City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bluff City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Bluff City is located in Fayette County
- Confidence
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Confidence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confidence
- Confidence is located in Fayette County
- Greenland ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast) - Holliday
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holliday
- Holliday is located in Fayette County
- Howards Point ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howards Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howards Point
- Howards Point is located in Fayette County
- Loogootee
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loogootee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loogootee
- Loogootee is located in Fayette County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loogootee <2>
- Magnolia Corner
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnolia Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Corner
- Magnolia Corner is located in Fayette County
- Moccasin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moccasin
- Moccasin is located in Effingham County
- Pinhook ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south) - Post Oak
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Twin Churches
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Churches have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Churches
- Twin Churches is located in Fayette County
How Far From Sefton 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 Sefton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Sefton and extending to:
- Vandalia, which is the Seat of Fayette County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Sefton to Vandalia, 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 61 miles [98.2 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 639 miles [1,028.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,368 miles [10,248.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,102 miles [11,429.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,981 miles [8,016.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sefton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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 from Point A (ie- Sefton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sefton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0709, Longitude: -88.9556 In this case, the coordinates for Sefton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Sefton 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 315.275 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.898 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.959 degrees. |