Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Banks, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Banks and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Banks
- 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 Banks:
- 31.813393, -85.836648
- 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 Banks
- 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 Pike County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Pike County
- Since Banks is near Bullock County and also Barbour County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Bullock County
- eBird sighting report for Barbour 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 Banks ...
We found eighteen communities that share the name Banks.
There is one other community in Alabama which is also named Banks.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another seventeen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seventeen communities, seventeen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Located In Alabama ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ontario
- This Banks lies 923 miles [1,485.4 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Banks that is located in Pike County.
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Banks ...
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.
- College Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for College Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Park
- College Park is located in Pike County
- Elmhill Plantation
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmhill Plantation have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmhill Plantation
- Elmhill Plantation is located in Pike County
- Forest Circle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Circle have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Circle
- Forest Circle is located in Pike County
- Green Oaks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Oaks
- Green Oaks is located in Pike County
- Green Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Ridge
- Green Ridge is located in Pike County
- Hillcrest
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Jonesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonesville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
- Jonesville is located in Pike County
- Josie
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Lewis
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Continue List (6 more) ...
- Mossy Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mossy Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mossy Grove
- Mossy Grove is located in Pike County
- Mountainbrook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountainbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainbrook
- Mountainbrook is located in Pike County
- Needmore
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
- Needmore is located in Pike County
- Pleasant Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in Pike County
- Trojan Terrace
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trojan Terrace have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trojan Terrace
- Trojan Terrace is located in Pike County
- Windmill Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windmill Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windmill Hills
- Windmill Hills is located in Pike County
- Mossy Grove
How Far From Banks 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 town such as Banks to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Banks and extending to:
- Troy, which is the Seat of Pike County, lies just to the West.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 47 miles [75.6 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could walk a straight line from Banks to Montgomery, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 695 miles [1,118.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,591 miles [10,607.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,290 miles [11,732.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,170 miles [8,320.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Banks. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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- Banks) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Banks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.8134, Longitude: -85.8366 In this case, the coordinates for Banks 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 Banks 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> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Banks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Banks to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.992 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.261 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.277 degrees. |