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Tidbits & Trivia
Introduction ...
Below is our collection of tidbits and odds 'n ends for Alaga.
Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alaga, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alaga and the surrounding area.
- 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 Alaga:
- 31.126293, -85.072429<1>
- 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.
- Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Alaga
- 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 Houston County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Houston County
- Since Alaga is near Early County and also Seminole County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Early County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Seminole 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:
- Open the Waymark.com report for Alaga
Curious and Interesting Names Near Alaga ...
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.
- Cedar Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gordon
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Gordon is also located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 328 people
- Gordon Landing
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Gordon Landing is also located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon Landing
- Howards Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Howards Mill is located in Early County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howards Mill
- Jones Crossroads
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Jones Crossroads is located in Early County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Crossroads
- Liberty
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Liberty is located in Early County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Lucy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Lucy is also located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucy
- Pansey
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Pansey is also located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pansey
How Far From Alaga 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 included the distance from a community such as Alaga to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Alaga and extending to:
- Dothan, which is the Seat of Houston County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<3> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Alaga to Dothan, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 112 miles [180.2 km] to the northwest (NW). 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 702 miles [1,129.8 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,590 miles [10,605.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,284 miles [11,722.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,166 miles [8,313.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Footnotes ...
| <1> | GPS Coordinates for Alaga:
Decimal: 31.12629, -85.072429
DDMMSS: 31° 7' 34", -85° 4' 20" |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Alaga) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Alaga to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alaga. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.1263, Longitude: -85.0724 In this case, the coordinates for Alaga have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.503 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.60 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.134 degrees. |
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