RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Missouri >> Lincoln County >> Chain-of-Rocks >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Chain-of-Rocks, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Chain-of-Rocks and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Chain-of-Rocks:
    • 38.915712, -90.802026
    • 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 Chain-of-Rocks
  • 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 Lincoln County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lincoln County
    • Since Chain-of-Rocks is near Saint Charles County and also Calhoun County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Saint Charles County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Calhoun 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 Chain-of-Rocks

Curious and Interesting Names Near Chain-of-Rocks ...

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.

  • All Saints Village
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • All Saints Village is located in Saint Charles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for All Saints Village
  • Apex
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Apex is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apex
  • Centerville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Centerville is located in Calhoun County (IL)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
  • Famous
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Famous is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Famous
  • Flint Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Flint Hill is located in Saint Charles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Hill
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 794 people
  • Golden Eagle
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Highview ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Highview is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highview
  • Josephville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Josephville is located in Saint Charles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
  • Kings Lake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Kings Lake is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Lake
  • Maryknoll
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Maryknoll is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryknoll
  • Moscow Mills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Oasis
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Oasis is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oasis

How Far From Chain-of-Rocks 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 village such as Chain-of-Rocks to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Chain-of-Rocks and extending to:

  • Troy, which is the Seat of Lincoln County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Chain-of-Rocks to Troy, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Jefferson City, which is the State Capital of Missouri, lies 77 miles [123.9 km] to the west southwest (WSW). 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 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 738 miles [1,187.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 42 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,445 miles [10,372.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,182 miles [11,558.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,063 miles [8,148.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Chain-of-Rocks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Chain-of-Rocks 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 Chain-of-Rocks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9157, Longitude: -90.8020    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.482 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.264 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.869 degrees.