Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Minvale, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Minvale and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Minvale
- 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 Minvale:
- 34.459254, -85.711634
- 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 Minvale
- 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 Minvale is near Cherokee County and also Jackson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cherokee County
- eBird sighting report for Jackson 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 Minvale ...
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.
- Alpine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Blake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Bootsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bootsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bootsville
- Bootsville is located in DeKalb County
- Dog Town
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Fisher Crossroads
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fisher Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher Crossroads
- Fisher Crossroads is located in DeKalb County
- High Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for High Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
- High Point is located in DeKalb County
- Hughes Mill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hughes Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes Mill
- Hughes Mill is located in DeKalb County
- Luna ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Pine Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
- Pine Ridge is located in DeKalb County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Plainview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Pleasant Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in DeKalb County
- Pumpkin Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pumpkin Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pumpkin Center
- Pumpkin Center is located in DeKalb County
- Rainsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rainsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainsville
- Rainsville is located in DeKalb County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,149 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rainsville <2>
How Far From Minvale 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 Minvale to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Minvale and extending to:
- Fort Payne, which is the Seat of DeKalb County, lies just to the South Southwest.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 147 miles [236.6 km]<3> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Minvale to Montgomery, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 569 miles [915.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 33 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,461 miles [10,398 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,171 miles [11,540.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,047 miles [8,122.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Minvale. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for DeKalb County: www.dekalbcountyal.us/
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 from Point A (ie- Minvale) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Minvale. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.4593, Longitude: -85.7116 In this case, the coordinates for Minvale 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 Minvale 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 313.071 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.72 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.646 degrees. |