Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Taft, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Taft and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Taft
- 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 Taft:
- 34.341197, -85.625555
- 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 Taft
- 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 Cherokee County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Cherokee County
- Since Taft is near DeKalb County and also Chattooga County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for DeKalb County
- eBird sighting report for Chattooga 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 Taft ...
We found 22 communities that share the name Taft.
Within Alabama, the name Taft is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another 22 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 22 communities, 21 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- British Columbia
- This Taft lies 2,005 miles [3,226.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Taft that is located in Cherokee County.
- California
- Florida
- Hillsborough County
- This Taft is located in Hillsborough County and lies 481 miles [774.1 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Taft that is located in Cherokee County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Taft.
- Orange County
- This Taft is located in Orange County and lies 479 miles [770.9 km] to the south southeast of the Taft that is located in Cherokee County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orange County community of Taft.
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
- British Columbia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Taft ...
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.
- Blanche
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanche
- Blanche is located in Cherokee County
- Broomtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broomtown
- Broomtown is located in Cherokee County
- Cedar Springs ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Cedar Springs is located in Cherokee County
- Congo
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Cornwall
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Cornwall Furnace
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornwall Furnace have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall Furnace
- Cornwall Furnace is located in Cherokee County
- Dewey
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Dog Town
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Grassland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Continue List (6 more) ...
- Jamestown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Lickskillet
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
- Lickskillet is located in DeKalb County
- Little River
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little River have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River
- Little River is located in Cherokee County
- Loveless
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Pumpkin Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pumpkin Center have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pumpkin Center
- Pumpkin Center is located in DeKalb County
- Tucker ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jamestown
How Far From Taft 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 Taft to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Taft and extending to:
- Centre, which is the Seat of Cherokee County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Taft to Centre, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 141 miles [226.9 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 570 miles [917.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 33 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,463 miles [10,401.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,172 miles [11,542.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,048 miles [8,124 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Taft. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Taft) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Taft. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.3412, Longitude: -85.6256 |
| <2> | 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 Taft 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. |
| <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 Taft, 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 Taft 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 313.014 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.637 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.639 degrees. |