Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Merrell Beach, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Merrell Beach and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Merrell Beach
- 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 Merrell Beach:
- 33.091574, -86.523986
- 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 Merrell Beach
- 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 Merrell Beach is near Coosa County and also Talladega County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Coosa County
- eBird sighting report for Talladega 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 Merrell Beach ...
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.
- Chancellors Ferry
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chancellors Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chancellors Ferry
- Chancellors Ferry is located in Talladega County
- Fourmile
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north) - Gold Branch
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gold Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Branch
- Gold Branch is located in Coosa County
- Homestead
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Indian Shoals
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Shoals have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Shoals
- Indian Shoals is located in Shelby County
- Jumbo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Kingdom Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingdom Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingdom Crossroads
- Kingdom Crossroads is located in Shelby County
- Marble Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marble Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble Valley
- Marble Valley is located in Coosa County
- Mount Sharon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Sharon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sharon
- Mount Sharon is located in Talladega County
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Nelson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Spring Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
- Spring Creek is located in Shelby County
- Springs Junction
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springs Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springs Junction
- Springs Junction is located in Shelby County
- Sulphur Spring
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulphur Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Spring
- Sulphur Spring is located in Talladega County
- Valentine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Wildwood Shores
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wildwood Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Shores
- Wildwood Shores is located in Shelby County
- Nelson
How Far From Merrell Beach 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 Merrell Beach to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Merrell Beach and extending to:
- Columbiana, which is the Seat of Shelby County, lies just to the Northwest.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 51 miles [82.1 km]<2> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could walk a straight line from Merrell Beach to Montgomery, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 663 miles [1,067 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 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,560 miles [10,557.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- 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).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,143 miles [8,276.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Merrell Beach. 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Merrell Beach) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Merrell Beach. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.0916, Longitude: -86.5240 |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Merrell Beach to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.483 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.005 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.276 degrees. |