Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ford City, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ford City and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ford City
- 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 Ford City:
- 34.785921, -87.528637
- 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 Ford City
- 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 Colbert County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Colbert County
- Since Ford City is near Lauderdale County and also Lawrence County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lauderdale County
- eBird sighting report for Lawrence 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 Ford City ...
We found four communities that share the name Ford City.
Within Alabama, the name Ford City is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these four communities, three are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Missouri
- Ontario
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ford City ...
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.
- Aqua Vista
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aqua Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aqua Vista
- Aqua Vista is located in Lauderdale County
- Cave Spring
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cave Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
- Cave Spring is located in Colbert County
- Emerald Shores
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerald Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Shores
- Emerald Shores is located in Lauderdale County
- Hideaway Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hideaway Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hideaway Hills
- Hideaway Hills is located in Lauderdale County
- Indian Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs
- Indian Springs is located in Lauderdale County
- Kingman ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Lake Coves
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Coves have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Coves
- Lake Coves is located in Lauderdale County
- Lakeview
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Lakeview Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeview Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Heights
- Lakeview Heights is located in Lauderdale County
- Lakeview Highlands
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeview Highlands have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Highlands
- Lakeview Highlands is located in Colbert County
- Listerhill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Listerhill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listerhill
- Listerhill is located in Colbert County
- Lock Six
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Continue List (7 more) ...
- Lockland
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Mount Pleasant ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Pleasant have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Mount Pleasant is located in Colbert County
- Paradise Points
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise Points have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Points
- Paradise Points is located in Colbert County
- Sky Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Village Pines
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Village Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Pines
- Village Pines is located in Lauderdale County
- Virginia Shores
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Shores
- Virginia Shores is located in Colbert County
- Woodlawn
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Lockland
How Far From Ford City 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 community such as Ford City to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ford City and extending to:
- Tuscumbia, which is the Seat of Colbert County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ford City to Tuscumbia, 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.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 180 miles [289.7 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 645 miles [1,038 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,520 miles [10,492.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,236 miles [11,645.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,112 miles [8,227 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ford City. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Colbert County: www.colbertcounty.org/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ford City) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ford City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.7859, Longitude: -87.5286 In this case, the coordinates for Ford City have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Ford City 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> | 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. |
| <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 Ford City 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 314.193 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.059 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.321 degrees. |