Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Coal Fire, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Coal Fire and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Coal Fire
- 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 Coal Fire:
- 33.404007, -88.084427
- 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 Coal Fire
- 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 Pickens County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Pickens County
- Since Coal Fire is near Lamar County and also Lowndes County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lamar County
- eBird sighting report for Lowndes 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Coal Fire ...
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.
- Archer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archer
- Archer is located in Pickens County
- Bell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Ethelsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ethelsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethelsville
- Ethelsville is located in Pickens County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 73 people
- Fernbank
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north) - Forest
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest) - Gordo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gordo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordo
- Gordo is located in Pickens County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,594 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gordo <2>
- Kennedy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast) - Liberty
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Pinecrest
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest) - Reform
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reform have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reform
- Reform is located in Pickens County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,546 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reform <2>
- Zion
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
How Far From Coal Fire to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Coal Fire to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Coal Fire and extending to:
- Carrollton, which is the Seat of Pickens County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Coal Fire to Carrollton, 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 125 miles [201.2 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 722 miles [1,161.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 41 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,610 miles [10,637.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,322 miles [11,783.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,198 miles [8,365.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Coal Fire. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Coal Fire) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Coal Fire. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.4040, Longitude: -88.0844 In this case, the coordinates for Coal Fire have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Coal Fire 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 314.445 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.161 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.839 degrees. |