Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in McDonald Chapel, we use the following websites to find information relevant to McDonald Chapel and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for McDonald Chapel
- 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 McDonald Chapel:
- 33.521773, -86.933604
- 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 McDonald Chapel
- 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 Jefferson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
- Since McDonald Chapel is near Walker County and also Shelby County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Walker 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near McDonald Chapel ...
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.
- Booker Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Booker Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booker Heights
- Booker Heights is located in Jefferson County
- Cottage Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottage Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hill
- Cottage Hill is located in Jefferson County
- Dolomite
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dolomite have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolomite
- Dolomite is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dolomite <2>
- Edgewater
(Less than 2 miles to the west) - Falls Junction
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Falls Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Junction
- Falls Junction is located in Jefferson County
- Forestdale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forestdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
- Forestdale is located in Jefferson County
- Frenchtown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frenchtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchtown
- Frenchtown is located in Jefferson County
- Garywood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Glenview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Green Acres
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Green Acres is located in Jefferson County
- Hillview
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Ivanhoe
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Continue List (12 more) ...
- Little Italy
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Italy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Italy
- Little Italy is located in Jefferson County
- Martins
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Maytown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Merrywood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Minor
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Park Courts
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Courts have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Courts
- Park Courts is located in Jefferson County
- Pleasant Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Pleasant Grove is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,578 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Grove <2>
- Shadyside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Sunset Mountain
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Mountain
- Sunset Mountain is located in Jefferson County
- Tuxedo Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tuxedo Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuxedo Heights
- Tuxedo Heights is located in Jefferson County
- Village Creek Junction
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Village Creek Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Creek Junction
- Village Creek Junction is located in Jefferson County
- Walnut Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Walnut Grove is located in Jefferson County
- Little Italy
How Far From McDonald Chapel 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 McDonald Chapel to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in McDonald Chapel and extending to:
- Birmingham, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies just to the East.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 87 miles [140 km]<3> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from McDonald Chapel to Montgomery, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 664 miles [1,068.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,557 miles [10,552.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,266 miles [11,693.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,142 miles [8,275.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for McDonald Chapel. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Jefferson County: www.jeffcointouch.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- McDonald Chapel) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in McDonald Chapel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.5218, Longitude: -86.9336 In this case, the coordinates for McDonald Chapel 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 McDonald Chapel 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 313.756 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.38 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.349 degrees. |