Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rutan, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rutan and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rutan
- 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 Rutan:
- 31.439610, -88.189453
- 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 Rutan
- 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Washington County
- Since Rutan is near Clarke County and also Greene County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Clarke County
- eBird sighting report for Greene 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 Rutan ...
We found two communities that share the name Rutan.
Within Alabama, the name Rutan is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Pennsylvania
- Saskatchewan
- This Rutan lies 1,675 miles [2,695.7 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Rutan that is located in Washington County.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rutan ...
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.
- Ballfield Landing
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ballfield Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballfield Landing
- Ballfield Landing is located in Clarke County
- Carpenter
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Carson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east) - Four Point
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Point
- Four Point is located in Washington County
- Frankville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankville
- Frankville is located in Washington County
- Fruitdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitdale
- Fruitdale is located in Washington County
- German Ford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for German Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Ford
- German Ford is located in Washington County
- Jordan
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Leroy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leroy
- Leroy is located in Washington County
- Oil Well Landing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oil Well Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil Well Landing
- Oil Well Landing is located in Washington County
- Seaboard
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Sunflower
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunflower
- Sunflower is located in Washington County
- Uniform
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Yellow Pine
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Pine
- Yellow Pine is located in Washington County
How Far From Rutan 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 Rutan to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rutan and extending to:
- Chatom, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies just to the West Northwest.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 128 miles [206 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Rutan to Montgomery, with an average speed<3>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 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 812 miles [1,306.8 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 47 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,709 miles [10,797.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,414 miles [11,931.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,291 miles [8,515 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rutan. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Washington County: www.washingtoncountyalgov.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- Rutan) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rutan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.4396, Longitude: -88.1895 In this case, the coordinates for Rutan 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 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 Rutan 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 314.349 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.782 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.251 degrees. |