Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Anita, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Anita and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Anita
- 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 Anita:
- 33.174284, -86.980270
- 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 Anita
- 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 Anita is near Bibb County and also Tuscaloosa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Bibb County
- eBird sighting report for Tuscaloosa 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 Anita ...
We found nine communities that share the name Anita.
Within Alabama, the name Anita is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another nine communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Florida
- Citrus County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Florida community of Anita [Citrus County].
- Hillsborough County
- This Anita is located in Hillsborough County and lies 450 miles [724.2 km]<1> to the southeast of the Anita that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Anita.
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Montana
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Anita ...
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.
- Booth Ford
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Booth Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booth Ford
- Booth Ford is located in Shelby County
- Glen Carbon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen Carbon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Carbon
- Glen Carbon is located in Shelby County
- Gray Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Hebron
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Marvel
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Masena
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Pea Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Piper
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Sawmill Town
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawmill Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawmill Town
- Sawmill Town is located in Shelby County
- Superior
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Anita 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 community such as Anita to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Anita and extending to:
- Columbiana, which is the Seat of Shelby County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Anita to Columbiana, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 67 miles [107.8 km] to the southeast (SE). 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 680 miles [1,094.4 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 6,575 miles [10,581.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,283 miles [11,720.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,160 miles [8,304.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Anita. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Anita) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Anita. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.1743, Longitude: -86.9803 In this case, the coordinates for Anita 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 Anita 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 Anita 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 313.761 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.338 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.44 degrees. |