Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rainbow, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rainbow and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rainbow
- 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 Rainbow:
- 34.752591, -86.736387
- 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 Rainbow
- 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 Madison County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Madison County
- Since Rainbow is near Limestone County and also Colbert County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Limestone County
- eBird sighting report for Colbert 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 Rainbow ...
We found thirteen communities that share the name Rainbow.
Within Alabama, the name Rainbow is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alaska
- California
- Placer County
- This Rainbow is located in Placer County and lies 1,876 miles [3,019.1 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Rainbow that is located in Madison County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Placer County community of Rainbow.
- San Diego County
- This Rainbow is located in San Diego County and lies 1,735 miles [2,792.2 km] to the west of the Rainbow that is located in Madison County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Diego County community of Rainbow.
- Connecticut
- Indiana
- Montana
- New York
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rainbow ...
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.
- Cherry Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Creek
- Cherry Creek is located in Madison County
- French Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for French Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Hill
- French Hill is located in Limestone County
- Green Acres
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Green Acres is located in Madison County
- Grove Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Park
- Grove Park is located in Madison County
- Indian Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- Indian Hills is located in Madison County
- Jeff
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Maplewood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Rideout Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rideout Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rideout Village
- Rideout Village is located in Madison County
- Rolling Meadows
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolling Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Meadows
- Rolling Meadows is located in Madison County
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Rolling Woods
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolling Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Woods
- Rolling Woods is located in Madison County
- Scenic View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scenic View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scenic View
- Scenic View is located in Madison County
- Shady Lane
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Lane
- Shady Lane is located in Madison County
- Summit Place
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit Place have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Place
- Summit Place is located in Madison County
- Union Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Park
- Union Park is located in Madison County
- University Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Park
- University Park is located in Madison County
- Rolling Woods
How Far From Rainbow 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 Rainbow to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rainbow and extending to:
- Huntsville, which is the Seat of Madison County, lies just to the East.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 165 miles [265.5 km]<2> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Rainbow to Montgomery, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 607 miles [976.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,490 miles [10,444.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,203 miles [11,592.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,079 miles [8,173.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rainbow. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Madison County: www.co.madison.al.us/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Rainbow 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. |
| <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 from Point A (ie- Rainbow) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rainbow. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.7526, Longitude: -86.7364 In this case, the coordinates for Rainbow have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Rainbow, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Rainbow to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.706 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.492 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.999 degrees. |