Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Tonica, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Tonica and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Tonica
- 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 Tonica:
- 41.216619, -89.068330
- 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 Tonica
- 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 La Salle County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for La Salle County
- Since Tonica is near Putnam County and also Bureau County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Putnam County
- eBird sighting report for Bureau 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 Tonica ...
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.
- Cedar Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Point
- Cedar Point is located in La Salle County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Point <2>
- Deer Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Farm Ridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farm Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farm Ridge
- Farm Ridge is located in La Salle County
- Jonesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
- Jonesville is located in La Salle County
- Little Rock ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock
- Little Rock is located in La Salle County
- Magnolia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnolia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Magnolia is located in Putnam County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Magnolia <2>
- Mark
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mark have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mark
- Mark is located in Putnam County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 546 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mark <2>
- Peru
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
- Peru is located in La Salle County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,612 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peru <2>
- Priscilla ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Sandy Ford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ford
- Sandy Ford is located in La Salle County
- Spring Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Bureau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,065 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Valley <2>
- Standard
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standard
- Standard is located in Putnam County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Standard <2>
How Far From Tonica to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a village such as Tonica to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Tonica and extending to:
- Ottawa, which is the Seat of La Salle County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<4> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Tonica to Ottawa, with an average speed<5> 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 103 miles [165.8 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 4 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 655 miles [1,054.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,267 miles [10,085.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,007 miles [11,276.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,891 miles [7,871.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Tonica. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for La Salle County: www.lasallecounty.org/
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> | 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. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Tonica) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Tonica. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.2166, Longitude: -89.0683 |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Tonica to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.389 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.326 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.461 degrees. |