Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Vera, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vera and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Vera
- 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 Vera:
- 39.034211, -89.113125
- 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 Vera
- 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 Vera is near Montgomery County and also Bond County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
- eBird sighting report for Bond 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 Vera ...
We found eight communities that share the name Vera.
Within Illinois, the name Vera is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Kansas
- Missouri
- Oklahoma
- Saskatchewan
- Texas
- Virginia
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Vera ...
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
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bluff City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Bluff City is located in Fayette County
- Confidence
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Confidence have been provided by the GNIS.<4> 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.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howards Point
- Howards Point is located in Fayette County
- Jimtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Magnolia Corner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnolia Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Corner
- Magnolia Corner is located in Fayette County
- Mulberry Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mulberry Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> 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 <5>
- Pinhook ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast) - Post Oak
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east) - Twin Churches
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Churches have been provided by the GNIS.<4> 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 Vera 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 Vera to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Vera and extending to:
- Vandalia, which is the Seat of Fayette County, lies just to the South.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 59 miles [95 km]<2> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could walk a straight line from Vera to Springfield, with an average speed<6> 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<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,376 miles [10,261.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,110 miles [11,442.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,989 miles [8,029 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Vera. 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 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 Vera 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Vera) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vera. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0342, Longitude: -89.1131 In this case, the coordinates for Vera have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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 Vera, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Vera 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 315.377 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.01 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.042 degrees. |