Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Vandalia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vandalia and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Vandalia
- 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 Vandalia:
- 39.310075, -91.487683
- 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 Vandalia
- 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 Audrain County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Audrain County
- Since Vandalia is near Pike County and also Ralls County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Pike County
- eBird sighting report for Ralls 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 Vandalia ...
We found thirteen communities that share the name Vandalia.
Within Missouri, the name Vandalia is unique.
Beyond Missouri, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Clay County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Indiana community of Vandalia [Clay County].
- Owen County
- This Vandalia is located in Owen County and lies 246 miles [395.9 km]<1> to the east of the Vandalia that is located in Audrain County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Owen County community of Vandalia.
- Iowa
- Michigan
- Montana
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Texas
- West Virginia
- Kanawha County
- This Vandalia is located in Kanawha County and lies 532 miles [856.2 km]<1> to the east of the Vandalia that is located in Audrain County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kanawha County community of Vandalia.
- Lewis County
- This Vandalia is located in Lewis County and lies 594 miles [956 km] to the east of the Vandalia that is located in Audrain County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lewis County community of Vandalia.
- Roane County
- This Vandalia is located in Roane County and lies 539 miles [867.4 km] to the east of the Vandalia that is located in Audrain County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roane County community of Vandalia.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Vandalia ...
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.
- Bowling Green
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowling Green
- Bowling Green is located in Pike County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,759 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bowling Green <3>
- Center
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center
- Center is located in Ralls County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 505 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Center <3>
- Curryville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Curryville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curryville
- Curryville is located in Pike County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Farmer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Gazette
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Greenlawn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlawn
- Greenlawn is located in Ralls County
- Martinsburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martinsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
- Martinsburg is located in Audrain County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Martinsburg <3>
- New Harmony
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Harmony
- New Harmony is located in Pike County
- Prankford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast) - Rush Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush Hill
- Rush Hill is located in Audrain County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
How Far From Vandalia 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 city such as Vandalia to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Vandalia and extending to:
- Mexico, which is the Seat of Audrain County, lies 23 miles [37 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Vandalia to Mexico, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 774 miles [1,245.6 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 31 days and walking would take 44 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,450 miles [10,380.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,190 miles [11,571.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,073 miles [8,164.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Vandalia. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Audrain County: www.audrain-county.org/
The official website for State of Missouri: https://www.mo.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Vandalia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vandalia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3101, Longitude: -91.4877 |
| <2> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Vandalia 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 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 Vandalia 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 316.953 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.861 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.108 degrees. |