Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Vandalia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vandalia and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Vandalia
- 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 Vandalia:
- 38.978930, -89.102309
- 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 Vandalia
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Fayette County
- Since Vandalia is near Bond County and also Montgomery County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Bond County
- eBird sighting report for Montgomery 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 Vandalia ...
We found thirteen communities that share the name Vandalia.
Within Illinois, the name Vandalia is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Indiana
- Clay 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 Indiana community of Vandalia [Clay County].
- Owen County
- This Vandalia is located in Owen County and lies 121 miles [194.7 km]<2> to the east of the Vandalia that is located in Fayette County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Owen County community of Vandalia.
- Iowa
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Montana
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Texas
- West Virginia
- Kanawha County
- This Vandalia is located in Kanawha County and lies 403 miles [648.6 km]<2> to the east of the Vandalia that is located in Fayette County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kanawha County community of Vandalia.
- Lewis County
- This Vandalia is located in Lewis County and lies 466 miles [750 km] to the east of the Vandalia that is located in Fayette County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lewis County community of Vandalia.
- Roane County
- This Vandalia is located in Roane County and lies 411 miles [661.4 km] to the east of the Vandalia that is located in Fayette County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roane County community of Vandalia.
- Indiana
Curious and Interesting Names Near Vandalia ...
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
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bluff City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Bluff City is located in Fayette County
- Confidence
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Confidence have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confidence
- Confidence is located in Fayette County
- Howards Point ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howards Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howards Point
- Howards Point is located in Fayette County
- Jimtown
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Lester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast) - Mulberry Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mulberry Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry Grove
- Mulberry Grove is located in Bond County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 570 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mulberry Grove <4>
- Pinhook ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Pleasant Mound
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Mound have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Mound
- Pleasant Mound is located in Bond County
- Post Oak
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast) - Twin Churches
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Churches have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Churches
- Twin Churches is located in Fayette County
How Far From Vandalia 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 city such as Vandalia to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Vandalia and extending to:
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 62 miles [99.8 km]<2> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could walk a straight line from Vandalia to Springfield, with an average speed<5> 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 about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 647 miles [1,041.2 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,378 miles [10,264.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,112 miles [11,445.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,991 miles [8,032.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Vandalia. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Vandalia 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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Vandalia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vandalia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9789, Longitude: -89.1023 In this case, the coordinates for Vandalia have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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> | 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 Vandalia 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 315.368 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.992 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.051 degrees. |