Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Marcus, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Marcus and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Marcus
- 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 Marcus:
- 34.215094, -85.983028
- 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 Marcus
- 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 DeKalb County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for DeKalb County
- Since Marcus is near Etowah County and also Marshall County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Etowah County
- eBird sighting report for Marshall 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 Marcus ...
We found eleven communities that share the name Marcus.
Within Alabama, the name Marcus is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another eleven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- Nevada
- North Carolina
- South Dakota
- Washington
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Marcus ...
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.
- Crossville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossville
- Crossville is located in DeKalb County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,847 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crossville <4>
- Duck Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duck Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
- Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
- Flanders
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Greenwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Homer ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Kilpatrick
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kilpatrick have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilpatrick
- Kilpatrick is located in DeKalb County
- Liberty
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Liberty Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberty Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
- Liberty Hill is located in Etowah County
- Pulltight
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Rains ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Scrougeout ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scrougeout have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scrougeout
- Scrougeout is located in Etowah County
- Yancy
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
How Far From Marcus 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 Marcus to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Marcus once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Marcus and extending to:
- Fort Payne, which is the Seat of DeKalb County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<3> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Marcus to Fort Payne, with an average speed<6> 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 128 miles [206 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 591 miles [951.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 34 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,484 miles [10,435 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,193 miles [11,576 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,070 miles [8,159.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for DeKalb County: www.dekalbcountyal.us/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Marcus 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. |
| <2> | 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 Marcus, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Marcus) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Marcus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.2151, Longitude: -85.9830 In this case, the coordinates for Marcus have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Marcus to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.223 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.86 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.813 degrees. |