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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 Sigel, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sigel 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 Sigel:
- 39.225993, -88.494296
- 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 Sigel
- 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 Shelby County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Shelby County
- Since Sigel is near Effingham County and also Cumberland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Effingham County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Cumberland 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 Sigel
Communities Also Named Sigel ...
We found four communities that are also named Sigel.
Within Illinois, the name Sigel is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of four communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Kansas
- Douglas County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Sigel [Douglas County].
- Michigan
- Huron County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Sigel [Huron County].
- Pennsylvania
- Jefferson County
- This Sigel is located in Jefferson County and lies 513 miles [825.6 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Sigel that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Sigel.
- Wisconsin
- La Crosse County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Wisconsin community of Sigel [La Crosse County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sigel ...
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.
- Evers
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Evers is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evers
- Funkhouser
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Green Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Heartville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Holland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Holland is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Island Grove ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Island Grove is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Grove
- Kingman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kingman is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingman
- Lillyville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lillyville is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lillyville
- Mode
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Neal
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Neal is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neal
- Paradise
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Paradise is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
How Far From Sigel 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 town such as Sigel to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sigel and extending to:
- Shelbyville, which is the Seat of Shelby County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<2> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Sigel to Shelbyville, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 72 miles [115.9 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 4 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 614 miles [988.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,343 miles [10,208.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,076 miles [11,387.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,955 miles [7,974.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Sigel 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sigel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Sigel 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 Sigel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2260, Longitude: -88.4943 |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.979 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.579 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.704 degrees. |
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