Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ararat, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ararat and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ararat
- 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 Ararat:
- 31.968206, -88.146682
- 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 Ararat
- 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 Choctaw County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Choctaw County
- Since Ararat is near Clarke County and also Marengo County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Clarke County
- eBird sighting report for Marengo 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 Ararat ...
We found six communities that share the name Ararat.
Within Alabama, the name Ararat is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Louisiana
- North Carolina
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ararat ...
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.
- Butler
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Butler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
- Butler is located in Choctaw County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,694 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Butler <3>
- Green Acres
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Green Acres is located in Choctaw County
- Lou
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Pickens Landing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pickens Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickens Landing
- Pickens Landing is located in Clarke County
- Pleasant Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in Choctaw County
- Red Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Red Springs. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Springs
- Red Springs is located in Choctaw County
- Rock Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Springs
- Rock Springs is located in Clarke County
- Sellers Landing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sellers Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers Landing
- Sellers Landing is located in Clarke County
- Wildcat Landing
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wildcat Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildcat Landing
- Wildcat Landing is located in Choctaw County
- Woods Bluff
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woods Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Bluff
- Woods Bluff is located in Clarke County
How Far From Ararat 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 Ararat to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ararat and extending to:
- Butler, which is the Seat of Choctaw County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ararat to Butler, with an average speed<5> 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 111 miles [178.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). 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 786 miles [1,264.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 31 days and walking would take 45 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,682 miles [10,753.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,389 miles [11,891.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,266 miles [8,474.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ararat. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Ararat) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ararat. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.9682, Longitude: -88.1467 In this case, the coordinates for Ararat have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Ararat to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.37 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.878 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.138 degrees. |