Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Watseka, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Watseka and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Watseka
- 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 Watseka:
- 40.776358, -87.732691
- 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 Watseka
- 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 Iroquois County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Iroquois County
- Since Watseka is near Newton County and also Benton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Newton County
- eBird sighting report for Benton 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 Watseka ...
We found one communities that share the name Watseka.
Within Illinois, the name Watseka is unique.
Beyond Illinois, there is another community also named Watseka in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Watseka ...
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.
- Beaverville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaverville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverville
- Beaverville is located in Iroquois County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beaverville <3>
- Crescent City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crescent City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent City
- Crescent City is located in Iroquois County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 547 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crescent City <3>
- Donovan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Donovan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donovan
- Donovan is located in Iroquois County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 279 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Donovan <3>
- Freedville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freedville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedville
- Freedville is located in Iroquois County
- Goodwine
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwine
- Goodwine is located in Iroquois County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Goodwine <3>
- Kentland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kentland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentland
- Kentland is located in Newton County (IN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,650 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kentland <3>
- Leonard
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Pitchin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest) - Woodland Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Junction
- Woodland Junction is located in Iroquois County
How Far From Watseka 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 Watseka to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Watseka and extending to:
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 122 miles [196.3 km]<4> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could drive a straight line from Watseka to Springfield, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 581 miles [935 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 33 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,239 miles [10,040.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,975 miles [11,225.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,856 miles [7,815 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Watseka: www.watsekacity.com/
The official website for Iroquois County: www.iroquois-co.com/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Watseka, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 from Point A (ie- Watseka) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Watseka. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.7764, Longitude: -87.7327 |
| <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 Watseka 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 314.502 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.251 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.929 degrees. |