Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sonoma, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sonoma and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sonoma
- 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 Sonoma:
- 34.075097, -85.902748
- 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 Sonoma
- 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 Etowah County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Etowah County
- Since Sonoma is near Cherokee County and also DeKalb County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cherokee County
- eBird sighting report for DeKalb 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 Sonoma ...
We found five communities that share the name Sonoma.
Within Alabama, the name Sonoma is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Maryland
- Michigan
- North Carolina
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sonoma ...
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.
- Ballplay
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Bath Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bath Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath Springs
- Bath Springs is located in Etowah County
- Coat's Bend
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Crudup
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Daisy
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Edwardsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Goodyear
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Hokes Bluff
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hokes Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hokes Bluff
- Hokes Bluff is located in Etowah County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,240 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hokes Bluff <4>
- Hokes Bluff Ferry
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hokes Bluff Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hokes Bluff Ferry
- Hokes Bluff Ferry is located in Etowah County
- Kings Hill ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kings Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Hill
- Kings Hill is located in Cherokee County
- Lay Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lay Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lay Springs
- Lay Springs is located in Etowah County
- Luke
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Slackland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Turkeytown
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
How Far From Sonoma 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 Sonoma to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sonoma and extending to:
- Gadsden, which is the Seat of Etowah County, lies just to the Southwest.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 119 miles [191.5 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Sonoma to Montgomery, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 593 miles [954.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 34 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,487 miles [10,439.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,196 miles [11,580.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,072 miles [8,162.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sonoma. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Etowah County: www.etowahcounty.org/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Sonoma) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sonoma. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.0751, Longitude: -85.9027 In this case, the coordinates for Sonoma have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Sonoma, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Sonoma 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 313.168 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.777 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.812 degrees. |