Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Mattoon, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mattoon and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Mattoon
- 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 Mattoon:
- 37.403382, -88.023079
- 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 Mattoon
- 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 Crittenden County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Crittenden County
- Since Mattoon is near Webster County and also Union County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Webster County
- eBird sighting report for Union 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 Mattoon ...
We found three communities that share the name Mattoon.
Within Kentucky, the name Mattoon is unique.
Beyond Kentucky, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Mississippi
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Mattoon ...
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.
- Caseyville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caseyville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caseyville
- Caseyville is located in Union County
- Cave in Rock Ferry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cave in Rock Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave in Rock Ferry
- Cave in Rock Ferry is located in Hardin County (IL)
- Cave-In-Rock
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave-In-Rock
- Cave-In-Rock is located in Hardin County (IL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
- Cave-In-Rock has also been known as:
- Cave-In-Rock village
- Deanwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Derby
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Hazel
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Marion
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marion have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Marion is located in Crittenden County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,850 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <3>
- Piney Fork
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Fork
- Piney Fork is located in Crittenden County
- Shady Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Shady Grove is located in Crittenden County
- Tribune
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Virginia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Mattoon 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 community such as Mattoon to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Mattoon and extending to:
- Marion, which is the Seat of Crittenden County, lies just to the South Southwest.
- Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies 180 miles [289.7 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Mattoon to Frankfort, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 11 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 605 miles [973.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,414 miles [10,322.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,140 miles [11,490.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,016 miles [8,072.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Mattoon. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Kentucky: https://kentucky.gov/
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Mattoon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mattoon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.4034, Longitude: -88.0231 In this case, the coordinates for Mattoon have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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> | 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 Mattoon to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.622 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.916 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.937 degrees. |