Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Mars Hill, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mars Hill and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Mars Hill
- 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 Mars Hill:
- 32.953457, -86.829988
- 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 Mars Hill
- 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 Chilton County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Chilton County
- Since Mars Hill is near Bibb County and also Shelby County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Bibb County
- eBird sighting report for Shelby 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 Mars Hill ...
We found fourteen communities that share the name Mars Hill.
There are three communities within Alabama that are also named Mars Hill.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another eleven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In Alabama ...
- Cleburne County
- Jefferson County
- Lauderdale County
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Lafayette 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 Arkansas community of Mars Hill [Lafayette County].
- Pope County
- This Mars Hill is located in Pope County and lies 387 miles [622.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Mars Hill that is located in Chilton County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pope County community of Mars Hill.
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Mississippi
- Amite County
- This Mars Hill is located in Amite County and lies 249 miles [400.7 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Mars Hill that is located in Chilton County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Amite County community of Mars Hill.
- Forrest County
- This Mars Hill is located in Forrest County and lies 184 miles [296.1 km] to the southwest of the Mars Hill that is located in Chilton County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Forrest County community of Mars Hill.
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Lawrence County
- This Mars Hill is located in Lawrence County and lies 161 miles [259.1 km]<1> to the north of the Mars Hill that is located in Chilton County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lawrence County community of Mars Hill.
- Rhea County
- This Mars Hill is located in Rhea County and lies 221 miles [355.7 km] to the north northeast of the Mars Hill that is located in Chilton County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rhea County community of Mars Hill.
- Arkansas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Mars Hill ...
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.
- Dry Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dry Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Valley
- Dry Valley is located in Shelby County
- New Convert
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Convert have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Convert
- New Convert is located in Chilton County
- Oak Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Pleasant Grove
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Pleasant Grove is located in Chilton County
- Poseys Crossroads
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poseys Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poseys Crossroads
- Poseys Crossroads is located in Chilton County
- Randolph
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
- Randolph is located in Bibb County
- Roberta
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Rocky Mount
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Mount have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Mount
- Rocky Mount is located in Chilton County
- Sand Mountain
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Mountain
- Sand Mountain is located in Bibb County
- Tucker
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker
- Tucker is located in Bibb County
- Union Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Union Grove is located in Chilton County
- Valley Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Junction
- Valley Junction is located in Shelby County
How Far From Mars Hill 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 Mars Hill to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Mars Hill and extending to:
- Clanton, which is the Seat of Chilton County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Mars Hill to Clanton, 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 50 miles [80.5 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 683 miles [1,099.2 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 6,579 miles [10,587.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,286 miles [11,725.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,163 miles [8,309 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Mars Hill. 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Mars Hill) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mars Hill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.9535, Longitude: -86.8300 In this case, the coordinates for Mars Hill 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Mars Hill 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 Mars Hill 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 313.657 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.187 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.426 degrees. |