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Lookout · Great River Road

Lowest Point in Illinois

OpenStreetMap
Lowest Point in Illinois — direction of view not recorded. Terrain and imagery at true elevation.
Overview · Assembled from verified data

This overlook sits at 313 feet along the Great River Road, marking the lowest point in Illinois. The land drops 17 feet within 600 meters of the site. Cairo Public Boat Launch lies northwest, 1.8 miles away at 322 feet, while Big Subway Gate is also northwest, 3.6 miles out at 355 feet. Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site is visible to the east-southeast, 2.9 miles away at 391 feet. Sikeston is 25.8 miles west-southwest, Cape Girardeau is 30.4 miles northwest, and Paducah is 30.6 miles east-northeast. Sunrise and sunset vary by season: on the June solstice the sun rises at 05:38 and sets at 20:20, while on the December solstice it rises at 07:07 and sets at 16:44. Equinox daylight runs from roughly 07:01 to 19:09 in March and 06:45 to 18:55 in September. The Mark Decker Platform precedes this stop on the route, and Spring Lake Overlook follows.

Access
0.6 mi detour
Elevation
313 ft
Relief
17 ft drop
In view
3 named features
Photos · Real imagery only
Founded in the 1830s and developed during the mid-19th Century as a major port for riverboats, Cairo was once considered to be one of the most important sites for urban settlement in the United States, due to its location at the confluence of the Mississippi River and Ohio River, which are the two m
w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Founded in the 1830s and developed during the mid-19th Century as a major port for riverboats, Cairo was once considered to be one of the most important sites for urban settlement in the United States, due to its location at the confluence of the Mississippi River and Ohio River, which are the two m
w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Founded in the 1830s and developed during the mid-19th Century as a major port for riverboats, Cairo was once considered to be one of the most important sites for urban settlement in the United States, due to its location at the confluence of the Mississippi River and Ohio River, which are the two m
w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Founded in the 1830s and developed during the mid-19th Century as a major port for riverboats, Cairo was once considered to be one of the most important sites for urban settlement in the United States, due to its location at the confluence of the Mississippi River and Ohio River, which are the two m
w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Founded in the 1830s and developed during the mid-19th Century as a major port for riverboats, Cairo was once considered to be one of the most important sites for urban settlement in the United States, due to its location at the confluence of the Mississippi River and Ohio River, which are the two m
w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Founded in the 1830s and developed during the mid-19th Century as a major port for riverboats, Cairo was once considered to be one of the most important sites for urban settlement in the United States, due to its location at the confluence of the Mississippi River and Ohio River, which are the two m
w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
In view · Named features

What you’re looking at

Named terrain around this overlook, nearest first. No view direction is recorded, so every bearing is listed.

  • Cairo Public Boat Launch322 ftnorthwest · 1.8 mi
  • Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site391 fteast-southeast · 2.9 mi
  • Big Subway Gate355 ftnorthwest · 3.6 mi
When to look · Sun at this latitude

Light

DateSunriseSunsetGolden hour
March equinox07:0119:0918:34
June solstice05:3820:2019:41
September equinox06:4518:5518:21
December solstice07:0716:4416:04

Local time (America/Chicago). Computed for this exact position.

Getting there · Position and access

Where it is

  • Sikeston25.8 mi west-southwest
  • Cape Girardeau30.4 mi northwest
  • Paducah30.6 mi east-northeast
← Before it: Mark Decker PlatformAfter it: Spring Lake Overlook →
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Common questions

How high is Lowest Point in Illinois?

Lowest Point in Illinois sits at about 313 feet (95 m).

What can you see from Lowest Point in Illinois?

From Lowest Point in Illinois: Cairo Public Boat Launch (NW, 1.8 mi); Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site (ESE, 2.9 mi); Big Subway Gate (NW, 3.6 mi).

What is the nearest town to Lowest Point in Illinois?

Sikeston, 26 miles WSW of Lowest Point in Illinois.

What is the next lookout after Lowest Point in Illinois?

Spring Lake Overlook is the next surfaced lookout along the same route after Lowest Point in Illinois.

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Lowest Point in Illinois — confirmed, rated, and photographed by people who actually pulled over. A local confirmation is what upgrades a lookout from Discovered to Verified. Zero hallucinations.

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