Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in West Blocton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Blocton and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for West Blocton
- 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 West Blocton:
- 33.117954, -87.124953
- 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 West Blocton
- 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 Bibb County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Bibb County
- Since West Blocton is near Tuscaloosa County and also Shelby County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Tuscaloosa County
- eBird sighting report for Shelby 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 West Blocton ...
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.
- Bibbville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Bucktown ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Flat Top
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Hebron
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Italian Town
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Italian Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italian Town
- Italian Town is located in Bibb County
- Johnstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Masena
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Piper
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Primitive Ridge
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Primitive Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primitive Ridge
- Primitive Ridge is located in Bibb County
- Red Eagle
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Stacks Hill ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stacks Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stacks Hill
- Stacks Hill is located in Bibb County
How Far From West Blocton 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 town such as West Blocton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in West Blocton and extending to:
- Centreville, which is the Seat of Bibb County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from West Blocton to Centreville, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 70 miles [112.7 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 689 miles [1,108.8 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,584 miles [10,595.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,292 miles [11,735.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,169 miles [8,318.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West Blocton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Bibb County: www.co.bibb.ga.us/
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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West Blocton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Blocton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.1180, Longitude: -87.1250 In this case, the coordinates for West Blocton 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 West Blocton 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 313.844 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.427 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.51 degrees. |