Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Blackankle, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Blackankle and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Blackankle
- 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 Blackankle:
- 34.745340, -86.018987
- 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 Blackankle
- 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 Jackson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson County
- Since Blackankle is near Marshall County and also DeKalb County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Marshall County
- eBird sighting report for DeKalb 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Blackankle ...
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.
- Berrys ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Georgetown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Georgetown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Georgetown is located in Jackson County
- Kyles
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Martintown
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martintown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martintown
- Martintown is located in Jackson County
- Mud Creek ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Pikeville
(Less than 2 miles to the west) - Roseberry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Skyline
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Sublett Ferry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sublett Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sublett Ferry
- Sublett Ferry is located in Jackson County
How Far From Blackankle 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 Blackankle to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Blackankle and extending to:
- Scottsboro, which is the Seat of Jackson County, lies just to the South.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 164 miles [263.9 km]<2> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Blackankle to Montgomery, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 572 miles [920.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 33 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,461 miles [10,398 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,172 miles [11,542.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,048 miles [8,124 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Blackankle. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <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 from Point A (ie- Blackankle) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Blackankle. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.7453, Longitude: -86.0190 |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Blackankle to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.27 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.988 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.705 degrees. |