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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 Shafter, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shafter 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 Shafter:
- 39.013656, -89.185071
- 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 Shafter
- 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:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Fayette County
- Since Shafter is near Montgomery County and also Bond County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Bond 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 Shafter
Communities Also Named Shafter ...
We found six communities that are also named Shafter.
Within Illinois, the name Shafter is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of six communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Kern County
- This Shafter is located in Kern County and lies 1,663 miles [2,676.3 km]<1> to the west of the Shafter that is located in Fayette County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kern County community of Shafter.
- Marin County
- This Shafter is located in Marin County and lies 1,802 miles [2,900 km] to the west of the Shafter that is located in Fayette County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marin County community of Shafter.
- Kentucky
- Pulaski County
- This Shafter is located in Pulaski County and lies 280 miles [450.6 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Shafter that is located in Fayette County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pulaski County community of Shafter.
- Missouri
- Linn County
- This Shafter is located in Linn County and lies 228 miles [366.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Shafter that is located in Fayette County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Linn County community of Shafter.
- Nevada
- Elko County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nevada community of Shafter [Elko County].
- Texas
- Presidio County
- This Shafter is located in Presidio County and lies 1,067 miles [1,717.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Shafter that is located in Fayette County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Presidio County community of Shafter.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Shafter ...
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 southeast)
- Bluff City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Confidence
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Confidence is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confidence
- Elm Point ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Elm Point is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Point
- Greenville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hookdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hookdale is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hookdale
- Jimtown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jimtown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
- Mulberry Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Paisley Corners
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Paisley Corners is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paisley Corners
- Pinhook ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pinhook is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinhook
- Pleasant Mound
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Mound is located in Bond County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Mound
- Post Oak
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Post Oak is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Oak
- Twin Churches
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Twin Churches is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Churches
How Far From Shafter 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 Shafter to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Shafter and extending to:
- Vandalia, which is the Seat of Fayette County, lies just to the East Southeast.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 58 miles [93.3 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could walk a straight line from Shafter to Springfield, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 651 miles [1,047.7 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,380 miles [10,267.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,113 miles [11,447.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,993 miles [8,035.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Shafter) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <2> | 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 Shafter, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Shafter 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 Shafter. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0137, Longitude: -89.1851 In this case, the coordinates for Shafter have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.423 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.06 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.081 degrees. |
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