Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Dearing Downs, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Dearing Downs and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Dearing Downs
- 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 Dearing Downs:
- 33.280669, -86.829989
- 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 Dearing Downs
- 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 Dearing Downs 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Dearing Downs ...
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.
- Alabaster
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alabaster have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabaster
- Alabaster is located in Shelby County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 33,701 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alabaster <2>
- Fox Haven
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Fungo Hollow
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fungo Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fungo Hollow
- Fungo Hollow is located in Shelby County
- Hardy
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Helena
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Helena have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
- Hunters Glen ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunters Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Glen
- Hunters Glen is located in Shelby County
- Keystone
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Kingwood
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Mallard Point
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mallard Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallard Point
- Mallard Point is located in Shelby County
- Navajo Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Navajo Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navajo Hills
- Navajo Hills is located in Shelby County
- Navajo Pines
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Navajo Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navajo Pines
- Navajo Pines is located in Shelby County
- Paramount
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Roy Ford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Royal Oaks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Oaks
- Royal Oaks is located in Shelby County
How Far From Dearing Downs 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 Dearing Downs to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Dearing Downs and extending to:
- Columbiana, which is the Seat of Shelby County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<3> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Dearing Downs 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 69 miles [111 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 669 miles [1,076.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,564 miles [10,563.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,272 miles [11,703.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,148 miles [8,284.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Dearing Downs. 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> | 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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dearing Downs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dearing Downs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.2807, Longitude: -86.8300 In this case, the coordinates for Dearing Downs 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 Dearing Downs 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 313.678 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.257 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.358 degrees. |