Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Banks, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Banks and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Banks
- 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 Banks:
- 33.151507, -87.189164
- 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 Banks
- 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 Bibb County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Bibb County
- Since Banks is near Tuscaloosa County and also Shelby County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Tuscaloosa County
- eBird sighting report for Shelby 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 Banks ...
We found eighteen communities that share the name Banks.
There is one other community in Alabama which is also named Banks.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another seventeen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seventeen communities, seventeen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Located In Alabama ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ontario
- This Banks lies 863 miles [1,388.9 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Banks that is located in Bibb County.
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Banks ...
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.
- Bibbville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Bucktown ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Caffee Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caffee Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caffee Junction
- Caffee Junction is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Cedar Cove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Cove
- Cedar Cove is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Chambers
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Flat Top
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Green Pond
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Pond
- Green Pond is located in Bibb County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Green Pond <5>
- Hebron
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Italian Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Italian Town have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italian Town
- Italian Town is located in Bibb County
- Johnstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Primitive Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Primitive Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primitive Ridge
- Primitive Ridge is located in Bibb County
- Red Eagle
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Stacks Hill ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stacks Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stacks Hill
- Stacks Hill is located in Bibb County
How Far From Banks to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Banks to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Banks and extending to:
- Centreville, which is the Seat of Bibb County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Banks to Centreville, with an average speed<6> 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 four to five hours.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 74 miles [119.1 km] to the southeast (SE). 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 691 miles [1,112.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,585 miles [10,597.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,293 miles [11,736.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,170 miles [8,320.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Banks. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Bibb County: www.co.bibb.ga.us/
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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Banks) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Banks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.1515, Longitude: -87.1892 In this case, the coordinates for Banks have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Banks 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. |
| <3> | 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 Banks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Banks 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 313.885 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.478 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.528 degrees. |