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:
- 33.451231, -90.471198
- 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 Sunflower County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Sunflower County
- Since Mattoon is near Leflore County and also Humphreys County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Leflore County
- eBird sighting report for Humphreys 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 Mississippi, the name Mattoon is unique.
Beyond Mississippi, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Kentucky
- 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.
- Blaine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Four Mile
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south) - Furry
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Heard Ferry
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heard Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heard Ferry
- Heard Ferry is located in Sunflower County
- Itta Bena
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Itta Bena
- Itta Bena is located in Leflore County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,795 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Itta Bena <3>
- Mayday
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast) - Moorhead
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorhead
- Moorhead is located in Sunflower County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,059 people
- Pollock ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Sunflower
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunflower
- Sunflower is located in Sunflower County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Swiftown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
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:
- Indianola, which is the Seat of Sunflower County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Mattoon to Indianola, with an average speed<4> 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.
- Jackson, which is the State Capital of Mississippi, lies 81 miles [130.4 km] to the south southeast (SSE). 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 836 miles [1,345.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 48 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,705 miles [10,790.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,424 miles [11,947.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,299 miles [8,527.9 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 Mississippi: https://www.ms.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 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: 33.4512, Longitude: -90.4712 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 315.923 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.881 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.817 degrees. |