Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in McGowan, we use the following websites to find information relevant to McGowan and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for McGowan
- 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 McGowan:
- 32.069039, -85.940231
- 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 McGowan
- 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 Bullock County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Bullock County
- Since McGowan is near Pike County and also Montgomery County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Pike County
- eBird sighting report for Montgomery 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 McGowan ...
We found three communities that share the name McGowan.
Within Alabama, the name McGowan is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Kentucky
- New York
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near McGowan ...
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.
- Bread Tray Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bread Tray Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bread Tray Hill
- Bread Tray Hill is located in Bullock County
- Bruceville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bruceville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville
- Bruceville is located in Bullock County
- China Grove
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for China Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China Grove
- China Grove is located in Pike County
- Cornerstone
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornerstone have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerstone
- Cornerstone is located in Bullock County
- Curry's
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Hector
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - High Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for High Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Ridge
- High Ridge is located in Bullock County
- Hooks Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hooks Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooks Crossroads
- Hooks Crossroads is located in Bullock County
- Orion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Pine Level
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
- Pine Level is located in Montgomery County
- Postoak
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Postoak
- Postoak is located in Bullock County
- Stills Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stills Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stills Crossroads
- Stills Crossroads is located in Pike County
How Far From McGowan 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 McGowan to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in McGowan and extending to:
- Union Springs, which is the Seat of Bullock County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from McGowan to Union Springs, 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 29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest (NW). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 687 miles [1,105.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, 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 6,584 miles [10,595.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,284 miles [11,722.5 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 McGowan. 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- McGowan) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in McGowan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.0690, Longitude: -85.9402 In this case, the coordinates for McGowan 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 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 McGowan 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 McGowan 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 313.07 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.387 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.264 degrees. |