RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Saint Clair County >> Vulcan >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Vulcan, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vulcan 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 Vulcan:
    • 38.528941, -90.242336
    • 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 Vulcan
  • 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 Saint Clair County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Saint Clair County
    • Since Vulcan is near Saint Louis City and also Saint Louis County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Saint Louis City
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Saint Louis 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 Vulcan

Communities Also Named Vulcan ...

We found thirteen communities that are also named Vulcan.

Within Illinois, the name Vulcan is unique.

Beyond Illinois, we know of thirteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these thirteen communities, twelve are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Jefferson County
      • This Vulcan is located in Jefferson County and lies 380 miles [611.6 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Vulcan that is located in Saint Clair County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Vulcan.
    • Alberta
      • This Vulcan lies 1,390 miles [2,237 km]<1> to the northwest of the Vulcan that is located in Saint Clair County.
    • Colorado
      • Gunnison County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Vulcan [Gunnison County].
    • Georgia
      • Walker County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Vulcan [Walker County].
    • Iowa
      • Keokuk County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Iowa community of Vulcan [Keokuk County].
    • Michigan
      • Dickinson County
      • This Vulcan is located in Dickinson County and lies 515 miles [828.8 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Vulcan that is located in Saint Clair County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dickinson County community of Vulcan.
    • Missouri
      • Iron County
      • This Vulcan is located in Iron County and lies 87 miles [140 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Vulcan that is located in Saint Clair County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Iron County community of Vulcan.
    • Ohio
      • Columbiana County
      • This Vulcan is located in Columbiana County and lies 528 miles [849.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Vulcan that is located in Saint Clair County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbiana County community of Vulcan.
      • Lucas County
      • This Vulcan is located in Lucas County and lies 411 miles [661.4 km] to the east northeast of the Vulcan that is located in Saint Clair County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lucas County community of Vulcan.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Schuylkill County
      • This Vulcan is located in Schuylkill County and lies 766 miles [1,232.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Vulcan that is located in Saint Clair County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Schuylkill County community of Vulcan.
    • Tennessee
      • Marion County
      • This Vulcan is located in Marion County and lies 356 miles [572.9 km]<1> to the southeast of the Vulcan that is located in Saint Clair County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Vulcan.
    • Virginia
      • Orange County
      • This Vulcan is located in Orange County and lies 666 miles [1,071.8 km]<1> to the east of the Vulcan that is located in Saint Clair County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orange County community of Vulcan.
    • West Virginia
      • Mingo County
      • This Vulcan is located in Mingo County and lies 446 miles [717.8 km]<1> to the east of the Vulcan that is located in Saint Clair County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mingo County community of Vulcan.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Vulcan ...

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.

  • Bixby
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bixby is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixby
  • Cherokee Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Cherokee Park is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Park
  • Cliff Cave
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cliff Cave is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliff Cave
  • Dutchtown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Dutchtown is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchtown
  • Ellendale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Ellendale is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
  • Falling Spring
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Falling Spring is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Spring
  • Fox Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Fox Park is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Park
  • Green Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Green Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Park
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,614 people
  • Ivory
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Ivory is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivory
  • Kings Oak
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Kings Oak is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Oak
  • Maplewood Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Maplewood Park is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood Park
  • Mount Pleasant
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Mount Pleasant is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Tiffany
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Tiffany is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiffany
  • Tower Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove

How Far From Vulcan 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 Vulcan to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Vulcan and extending to:

  • Belleville, which is the Seat of Saint Clair County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Vulcan to Belleville, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours 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 92 miles [148.1 km] to the north northeast (NNE). 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 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 711 miles [1,144.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 41 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,443 miles [10,369 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,178 miles [11,551.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,058 miles [8,140.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Vulcan) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Vulcan, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Vulcan 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.
<4>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.
<5>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 Vulcan 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 Vulcan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.5289, Longitude: -90.2423       In this case, the coordinates for Vulcan have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.098 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.77 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.692 degrees.