Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alum, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alum and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Alum
- 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 Alum:
- 37.908542, -117.666762
- 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 Alum
- 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 Esmeralda County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Esmeralda County
- Since Alum is near Nye County and also Mineral County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Nye County
- eBird sighting report for Mineral 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 Alum ...
We found two communities that share the name Alum.
Within Nevada, the name Alum is unique.
Beyond Nevada, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Alum ...
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.
- Alkali
(18 miles [29 km] to the east) - Alpine ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Blair ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
- Blair is located in Esmeralda County
- Calmville ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west) - Coaldale ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Coaldale is located in Esmeralda County
- Coaldale has also been known as:
- Coaldale Junction
- Coyote Hole
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coyote Hole have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coyote Hole
- Coyote Hole is located in Esmeralda County
- Fish Lake ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west) - Gilbert ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north) - Silver Peak
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Peak
- Silver Peak is located in Esmeralda County
How Far From Alum 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 Alum to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Alum once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Alum and extending to:
- Goldfield, which is the Seat of Esmeralda County, lies 27 miles [43.5 km]<2> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Alum to Goldfield, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Carson City, which is the State Capital of Nevada, lies 143 miles [230.1 km] to the northwest (NW). 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 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,181 miles [3,510 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 86 days and walking would take 124 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,310 miles [11,764.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,079 miles [13,001.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,088 miles [9,797.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of Nevada: nv.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Alum, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- Alum) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alum. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9085, Longitude: -117.6668 In this case, the coordinates for Alum have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Alum 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 336.26 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 336.423 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.289 degrees. |