Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Swaim, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Swaim and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Swaim
- 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 Swaim:
- 34.869531, -86.198318
- 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 Swaim
- 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 Jackson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson County
- Since Swaim is near Franklin County and also Madison County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Franklin County
- eBird sighting report for Madison 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 Swaim ...
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.
- Coptown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Hollytree
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollytree
- Hollytree is located in Jackson County
- Hytop
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Jack Lane ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Little Nashville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Nashville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Nashville
- Little Nashville is located in Jackson County
- Mud Creek ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Narrows ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Pleasant Groves
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Groves have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Groves
- Pleasant Groves is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Skyline
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Sunset ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Swaim 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 Swaim to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Swaim and extending to:
- Scottsboro, which is the Seat of Jackson County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<2> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Swaim to Scottsboro, with an average speed<3> 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 172 miles [276.8 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 576 miles [927 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 33 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,462 miles [10,399.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,174 miles [11,545.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,050 miles [8,127.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Swaim. 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 'straight-line' (or 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- Swaim) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Swaim. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.8695, Longitude: -86.1983 In this case, the coordinates for Swaim 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 Swaim 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 313.384 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.138 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.749 degrees. |