Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shale City, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shale City and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Shale City
- 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 Shale City:
- 41.219757, -90.640692
- 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 Shale City
- 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 Mercer County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Mercer County
- Since Shale City is near Rock Island County and also Warren County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Rock Island County
- eBird sighting report for Warren 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 Shale City ...
We found one communities that share the name Shale City.
Within Illinois, the name Shale City is unique.
Beyond Illinois, there is another community also named Shale City in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Oregon
- Jackson County
- This Shale City is located in Jackson County and lies 1,637 miles [2,634.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Shale City that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Shale City.
- Oregon
Curious and Interesting Names Near Shale City ...
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.
- Alexis
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexis
- Alexis is located in Mercer County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 778 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alexis <2>
- Cable
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Griffin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Hamlet
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Joy
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joy
- Joy is located in Mercer County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Joy <2>
- Martin ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Preemption
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Preemption have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preemption
- Preemption is located in Mercer County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Preemption <2>
- Sugar Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Sugar Grove is located in Mercer County
- Sunbeam
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbeam
- Sunbeam is located in Mercer County
How Far From Shale City 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 Shale City to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Shale City and extending to:
- Aledo, which is the Seat of Mercer County, lies just to the West Southwest.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 111 miles [178.6 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Shale City to Springfield, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,324 miles [10,177.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,066 miles [11,371.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,953 miles [7,971.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Shale City. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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 from Point A (ie- Shale City) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shale City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.2198, Longitude: -90.6407 In this case, the coordinates for Shale City have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 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 Shale City 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 316.442 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.533 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.239 degrees. |