Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shasta, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shasta and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Shasta
- 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 Shasta:
- 37.131717, -89.395082
- 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 Shasta
- 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 Alexander County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Alexander County
- Since Shasta is near Scott County and also Pulaski County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Scott County
- eBird sighting report for Pulaski 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 Shasta ...
We found two communities that share the name Shasta.
Within Illinois, the name Shasta is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Ohio
Curious and Interesting Names Near Shasta ...
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.
- Cache
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cache have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cache
- Cache is located in Alexander County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cache <4>
- Clank
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Commerce
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce
- Commerce is located in Scott County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Commerce <4>
- Fayville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest) - Frog City ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Gale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Grays Point ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grays Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays Point
- Grays Point is located in Scott County (MO)
- Olive Branch
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olive Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive Branch
- Olive Branch is located in Alexander County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Olive Branch <4>
- Poor Farm ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Price Landing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Price Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price Landing
- Price Landing is located in Scott County (MO)
- Tankville
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Unity
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity
- Unity is located in Alexander County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Unity <4>
How Far From Shasta 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 community such as Shasta to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Shasta once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Shasta and extending to:
- Cairo, which is the Seat of Alexander County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Shasta to Cairo, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 183 miles [294.5 km] to the north (N). 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 682 miles [1,097.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 39 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,480 miles [10,428.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,209 miles [11,601.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,086 miles [8,185.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Shasta) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shasta. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.1317, Longitude: -89.3951 In this case, the coordinates for Shasta have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Shasta, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <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 Shasta 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 315.487 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.875 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.617 degrees. |