Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alford, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alford and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Alford
- 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 Alford:
- 42.235990, -73.413328
- 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 Alford
- 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 Berkshire County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Berkshire County
- Since Alford is near Columbia County and also Litchfield County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Columbia County
- eBird sighting report for Litchfield 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 Alford ...
We found eight communities that share the name Alford.
Within Massachusetts, the name Alford is unique.
Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Colorado
- Florida
- Hillsborough County
- This Alford is located in Hillsborough County and lies 1,095 miles [1,762.2 km]<2> to the south southwest of the Alford that is located in Berkshire County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Alford.
- Jackson County
- This Alford is located in Jackson County and lies 1,035 miles [1,665.7 km] to the southwest of the Alford that is located in Berkshire County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Alford.
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Minnesota
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Alford ...
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.
- Flatbrook
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Green River
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green River have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
- Green River is located in Columbia County (NY)
- Harlemville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlemville
- Harlemville is located in Columbia County (NY)
- Hartsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsville
- Hartsville is located in Berkshire County
- Lee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
- Lee is located in Berkshire County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,629 people
- Red Rock
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock
- Red Rock is located in Columbia County (NY)
- Rockdale Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockdale Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale Mills
- Rockdale Mills is located in Berkshire County
- Tanglewood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tanglewood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewood
- Tanglewood is located in Berkshire County
How Far From Alford 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 Alford to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Alford and extending to:
- Pittsfield, which is the Seat of Berkshire County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<2> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Alford to Pittsfield, with an average speed<4> 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.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 120 miles [193.1 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 298 miles [479.6 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,607 miles [9,023.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,319 miles [10,169.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,194 miles [6,749.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alford. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Alford 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Alford) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2360, Longitude: -73.4133 |
| <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 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. |
| <5> | 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 Alford to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 305.41 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 301.165 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.696 degrees. |