Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alton and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Alton
- 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 Alton:
- 33.579270, -86.637487
- 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 Alton
- 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 Jefferson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
- Since Alton is near Blount County and also Saint Clair County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Blount County
- eBird sighting report for Saint Clair 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 Alton ...
We found 35 communities that share the name Alton.
Within Alabama, the name Alton is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another 35 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 35 communities, 33 are located in the United States and four are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Milton County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Alton [Milton County].
- Tattnall County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Alton [Tattnall County].
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Lyon County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Alton [Lyon County].
- Osborne County
- This Alton is located in Osborne County and lies 793 miles [1,276.2 km]<2> to the northwest of the Alton that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Osborne County community of Alton.
- Sumner County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Alton [Sumner County].
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Concordia Parish
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Louisiana community of Alton [Concordia Parish].
- Saint Tammany Parish
- This Alton is located in Saint Tammany Parish and lies 289 miles [465.1 km]<2> to the southwest of the Alton that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Tammany Parish community of Alton.
- Maine
- Michigan
- Delta County
- This Alton is located in Delta County and lies 849 miles [1,366.3 km]<2> to the north of the Alton that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Delta County community of Alton.
- Kent County
- This Alton is located in Kent County and lies 655 miles [1,054.1 km] to the north of the Alton that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kent County community of Alton.
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Nova Scotia
- This Alton lies 1,472 miles [2,369 km]<2> to the northeast of the Alton that is located in Jefferson County.
- Ohio
- Ontario
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Texas
- Denton County
- This community is historic<1> and although located in Denton County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Denton County community of Alton.
- Hidalgo County
- This Alton is located in Hidalgo County and lies 860 miles [1,384 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Alton that is located in Jefferson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hidalgo County community of Alton.
- Utah
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Alton ...
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.
- Battleground
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Battleground have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battleground
- Battleground is located in Jefferson County
- Dale ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Hunters Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunters Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Hill
- Hunters Hill is located in Jefferson County
- Irondale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irondale have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irondale
- Irondale is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,226 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irondale <5>
- Liberty Highlands
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberty Highlands have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Highlands
- Liberty Highlands is located in Jefferson County
- Moore Corner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moore Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Corner
- Moore Corner is located in Jefferson County
- Mountain Forest
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Forest
- Mountain Forest is located in Jefferson County
- Queenstown
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Queenstown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queenstown
- Queenstown is located in Jefferson County
- Rock Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Ridge
- Rock Ridge is located in Jefferson County
- Roper
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Rose Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Saddlebrook
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saddlebrook have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saddlebrook
- Saddlebrook is located in Jefferson County
How Far From Alton 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 Alton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Alton and extending to:
- Birmingham, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Alton to Birmingham, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 85 miles [136.8 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 648 miles [1,042.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,542 miles [10,528.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,250 miles [11,667.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,127 miles [8,251.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Jefferson County: www.jeffcointouch.com/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.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 Alton, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Alton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.5793, Longitude: -86.6375 In this case, the coordinates for Alton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Alton 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. |
| <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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Alton to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.581 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.186 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.217 degrees. |