Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alabaster, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alabaster and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Alabaster
- 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 Alabaster:
- 33.245623, -86.843085
- 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 Alabaster
- 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 Shelby County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Shelby County
- Since Alabaster is near Jefferson County and also Bibb County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
- eBird sighting report for Bibb 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 Alabaster ...
We found one communities that share the name Alabaster.
Within Alabama, the name Alabaster is unique.
Beyond Alabama, there is another community also named Alabaster in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Alabaster ...
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.
- Dearing Downs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dearing Downs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dearing Downs
- Dearing Downs is located in Shelby County
- Elliotsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elliotsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliotsville
- Elliotsville is located in Shelby County
- Fox Haven
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Glen Forest
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Forest
- Glen Forest is located in Shelby County
- Hardy
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Helena
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Helena have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Helena is located in Shelby County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,374 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Helena <3>
- Hunters Glen ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunters Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Glen
- Hunters Glen is located in Shelby County
- Keystone
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Kingwood
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast) - Longview
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Mallard Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mallard Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallard Point
- Mallard Point is located in Shelby County
- Mission Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Hills
- Mission Hills is located in Shelby County
- Continue List (4 more) ...
- Navajo Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Navajo Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navajo Hills
- Navajo Hills is located in Shelby County
- Navajo Pines
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Navajo Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navajo Pines
- Navajo Pines is located in Shelby County
- Paramount
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Willow Glen
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Glen
- Willow Glen is located in Shelby County
- Navajo Hills
How Far From Alabaster to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Alabaster to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Alabaster and extending to:
- Columbiana, which is the Seat of Shelby County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Alabaster to Columbiana, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 67 miles [107.8 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 about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 671 miles [1,079.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 39 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,566 miles [10,567 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,274 miles [11,706.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,151 miles [8,289.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Alabaster: www.cityofalabaster.com/
The official website for Shelby County: www.shelbycountyalabama.com/
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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Alabaster) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alabaster. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.2456, Longitude: -86.8431 In this case, the coordinates for Alabaster 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 Alabaster 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 313.684 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.258 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.371 degrees. |