Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Palos, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Palos and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Palos
- 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 Palos:
- 33.645662, -87.044997
- 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 Palos
- 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 Palos is near Walker County and also Blount County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Walker County
- eBird sighting report for Blount 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 Palos ...
We found two communities that share the name Palos.
Within Alabama, the name Palos is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Ohio
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Palos ...
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.
- Bryan
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Flat Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flat Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Creek
- Flat Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Flat Top
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast) - Glover Ferry
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glover Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover Ferry
- Glover Ferry is located in Jefferson County
- Graysville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graysville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graysville
- Graysville is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,066 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Graysville <3>
- Littleton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Littleton Ferry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Littleton Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton Ferry
- Littleton Ferry is located in Jefferson County
- Media
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Media
- Media is located in Jefferson County
- Reeds Ferry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
- Reeds Ferry is located in Walker County
- Shady Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Shady Grove is located in Jefferson County
- Snowtown
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Williams Ferry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williams Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Ferry
- Williams Ferry is located in Jefferson County
How Far From Palos to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Palos to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Palos and extending to:
- Birmingham, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Palos to Birmingham, 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 five to six hours.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 97 miles [156.1 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 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 6,555 miles [10,549.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,265 miles [11,691.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,141 miles [8,273.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Palos. 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Palos) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Palos. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.6457, Longitude: -87.0450 In this case, the coordinates for Palos have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Palos 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 313.831 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.483 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.367 degrees. |