Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shoals Acres, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shoals Acres and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Shoals Acres
- 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 Shoals Acres:
- 34.868697, -87.552803
- 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 Shoals Acres
- 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 Lauderdale County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lauderdale County
- Since Shoals Acres is near Colbert County and also Lawrence County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Colbert County
- eBird sighting report for Lawrence 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 Shoals Acres ...
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.
- Atlas ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Emerald Shores
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerald Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Shores
- Emerald Shores is located in Lauderdale County
- Falconhead
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Falconhead have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falconhead
- Falconhead is located in Lauderdale County
- Hideaway Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hideaway Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hideaway Hills
- Hideaway Hills is located in Lauderdale County
- Kingman ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Lake Coves
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Coves have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Coves
- Lake Coves is located in Lauderdale County
- Lakeview
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Lakeview Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeview Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Heights
- Lakeview Heights is located in Lauderdale County
- Lock Six
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Lockland
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Sky Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Village Pines
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Village Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Pines
- Village Pines is located in Lauderdale County
- Woodlawn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Shoals Acres 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 Shoals Acres to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Shoals Acres and extending to:
- Florence, which is the Seat of Lauderdale County, lies just to the Southwest.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 186 miles [299.3 km]<2> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Shoals Acres to Montgomery, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 11 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 643 miles [1,034.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,517 miles [10,488.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,234 miles [11,642 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,109 miles [8,222.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Shoals Acres. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Shoals Acres) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shoals Acres. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.8687, Longitude: -87.5528 In this case, the coordinates for Shoals Acres have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Shoals Acres 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 314.212 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.093 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.313 degrees. |