Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bell, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bell and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bell
- 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 Bell:
- 33.338935, -87.960833
- 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 Bell
- 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 Pickens County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Pickens County
- Since Bell is near Tuscaloosa County and also Fayette County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Tuscaloosa County
- eBird sighting report for Fayette 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 Bell ...
We found 21 communities that share the name Bell.
Within Alabama, the name Bell is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another 21 communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Leavenworth County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Bell [Leavenworth County].
- Washington 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 Bell [Washington County].
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Presque Isle County
- This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Bell [Presque Isle County].
- Washtenaw County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Bell [Washtenaw County].
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Columbiana County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Columbiana County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbiana County community of Bell.
- Highland County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Bell [Highland County].
- Oklahoma
- Adair County
- This Bell is located in Adair County and lies 410 miles [659.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Bell that is located in Pickens County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adair County community of Bell.
- Oklahoma County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Oklahoma community of Bell [Oklahoma County].
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bell ...
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.
- Coal Fire
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Dillburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest) - Gordo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gordo have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordo
- Gordo is located in Pickens County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,594 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gordo <5>
- Hickory
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest) - Pioneer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south) - Pleasant Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Pleasant Grove is located in Pickens County
- Reform
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reform have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reform
- Reform is located in Pickens County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,546 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reform <5>
- Zion
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Bell 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 Bell to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bell and extending to:
- Carrollton, which is the Seat of Pickens County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Bell to Carrollton, 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 117 miles [188.3 km] to the southeast (SE). 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 719 miles [1,157.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 41 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,608 miles [10,634.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,319 miles [11,778.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,195 miles [8,360.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bell. 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bell) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.3389, Longitude: -87.9608 In this case, the coordinates for Bell 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 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 Bell 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 Bell, 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 Bell 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 314.365 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.059 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.801 degrees. |