Cairo Illinois Map

About Cairo, Illinois

Cairo is a locality in Alexander County, Illinois, United States. It has a population of approximately 1,682. The population density is 93.9 people per km². Cairo is located at 37.0053°N, 89.1765°W. It observes the Central Time (America/Chicago) timezone. ZIP code: 62914.

Cairo, Illinois, sprawls at the confluence where the mighty Mississippi and Ohio Rivers meet, a land shaped by the ceaseless currents and the rich, alluvial soil that stretches toward horizons often softened by a hazy humidity. It lies 28.0 miles south-east of Cape Girardeau, MO (from Cape Girardeau, MO: bearing 138°T), and is situated 7.6 miles south of Mounds. The landscape here is a broad, flat expanse, punctuated by the occasional stand of cypress trees whose roots grip the earth like ancient hands, and the vast, open sky that seems to hold the very breath of the Midwest. During the long, languid afternoons, the light can take on a peculiar golden hue, as if filtered through a thousand years of river mist, lending a quiet majesty to the otherwise unassuming terrain. The air, especially when the wind shifts from the water, carries the faint, earthy scent of damp soil and distant agriculture, a constant reminder of the fertile land that defines Cairo. This southernmost tip of Illinois carries a deep history, once a bustling hub of steamboat traffic and a strategic point for commerce before the railroads reshaped the nation's arteries. Founded with grand ambitions of becoming a major metropolis, Cairo's fortunes have ebbed and flowed with the rivers and the shifting economic tides, its past echoing in the weathered facades of its older buildings and the quiet dignity of its residents. Today, the local economy still whispers of its riverine heritage, with a reliance on agriculture and the continuing, albeit diminished, importance of river transport, a legacy that can be felt in the unhurried pace of daily life. The confluence itself remains a powerful, almost spiritual, landmark, a place where the sheer force of nature commands respect and a sense of timelessness settles over the land.

About This Cairo Map Page

This page provides an interactive Google map of Cairo, Illinois with street, satellite and terrain views and integrated Street View imagery. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service, with current observations and a 7-day forecast also powered by Open-Meteo. Real-time local news and world news feeds keep the page current, while a Wikipedia summary or an editorially written description provides background on Cairo and Alexander County.

Detailed location data for Cairo includes the ZIP code (62914), telephone area code (618), county seat of Alexander County (Cairo), and school district assignment (Cairo Community Unit School District 1). These are among the most commonly searched location details for any US city or town.

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity — ensuring the correct Cairo is identified even where the name is shared across multiple counties or states. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.