RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Calhoun County >> Burns >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Burns, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Burns and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Burns:
    • 33.838435, -85.606627
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Burns
  • 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 Calhoun County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Calhoun County
    • Since Burns is near Cleburne County and also Cherokee County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cleburne County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cherokee 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Burns

Communities Also Named Burns ...

We found 27 communities that are also named Burns.

Within Alabama, the name Burns is unique.

Beyond Alabama, we know of 27 communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these 27 communities, 26 are located in the United States and three are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Pinal County
      • This Burns is located in Pinal County and lies 1,508 miles [2,426.9 km]<1> to the west of the Burns that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pinal County community of Burns.
    • Colorado
      • Eagle County
      • This Burns is located in Eagle County and lies 1,243 miles [2,000.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Burns that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Eagle County community of Burns.
    • Georgia
      • Twiggs 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 Georgia community of Burns [Twiggs County].
    • Idaho
      • Boundary County
      • This Burns is located in Boundary County and lies 1,877 miles [3,020.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Burns that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Boundary County community of Burns.
    • Illinois
      • McLean County
      • This Burns is located in McLean County and lies 489 miles [787 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Burns that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McLean County community of Burns.
    • Indiana
      • Elkhart 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 Indiana community of Burns [Elkhart County].
      • Martin 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 Indiana community of Burns [Martin County].
    • Kansas
      • Butler 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 Burns [Butler County].
      • Marion County
      • This Burns is located in Marion County and lies 694 miles [1,116.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Burns that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Burns.
    • Louisiana
      • Saint Mary Parish
      • This Burns is located in Saint Mary Parish and lies 455 miles [732.3 km]<1> to the southwest of the Burns that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Mary Parish community of Burns.
    • Michigan
      • Saint Clair 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 Burns [Saint Clair County].
    • Minnesota
      • Anoka 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 Minnesota community of Burns [Anoka County].
    • Mississippi
      • Jasper 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 Mississippi community of Burns [Jasper County].
      • Smith County
      • This Burns is located in Smith County and lies 256 miles [412 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Burns that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Smith County community of Burns.
    • Missouri
      • Polk County
      • This Burns is located in Polk County and lies 503 miles [809.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Burns that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Polk County community of Burns.
    • Montana
      • Richland County
      • This Burns is located in Richland County and lies 1,351 miles [2,174.2 km]<1> to the northwest of the Burns that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Richland County community of Burns.
    • New York
      • Allegany County
      • This Burns is located in Allegany County and lies 730 miles [1,174.8 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Burns that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegany County community of Burns.
    • Oklahoma
      • Washita 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 Burns [Washita County].
    • Ontario
      • 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 Ontario community of Burns.
    • Oregon
      • Harney County
      • This Burns is located in Harney County and lies 1,908 miles [3,070.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Burns that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harney County community of Burns.
    • Tennessee
      • Dickson County
      • This Burns is located in Dickson County and lies 180 miles [289.7 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Burns that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dickson County community of Burns.
    • Texas
      • Bowie County
      • This Burns is located in Bowie County and lies 499 miles [803.1 km]<1> to the west of the Burns that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bowie County community of Burns.
      • Cooke 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 Texas community of Burns [Cooke County].
      • DeWitt 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 Texas community of Burns [DeWitt County].
      • Rusk 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 Texas community of Burns [Rusk County].
    • Wisconsin
      • La Crosse County
      • This Burns is located in La Crosse County and lies 754 miles [1,213.4 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Burns that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the La Crosse County community of Burns.
    • Wyoming
      • Laramie County
      • This Burns is located in Laramie County and lies 1,142 miles [1,837.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Burns that is located in Calhoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Laramie County community of Burns.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Burns ...

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.

  • Couch
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Couch is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couch
  • Dailey
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Dailey is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dailey
  • Greenwood
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Greenwood is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
  • Jenkins
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jenkins is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins
  • Liberty Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Liberty Hill is located in Cleburne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
  • Maxwellborn
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Maxwellborn is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwellborn
  • Mount Pleasant
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Pleasant is located in Cleburne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Possum Trot
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Possum Trot is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possum Trot
  • Prices
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Prices is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prices
  • Rabbittown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Rabbittown is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbittown

How Far From Burns 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 Burns to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Burns and extending to:

  • Anniston, which is the Seat of Calhoun County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Burns to Anniston, with an average speed<4> 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 five to six hours.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 108 miles [173.8 km] to the south southwest (SSW). 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 590 miles [949.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 34 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,486 miles [10,438.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,193 miles [11,576 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,070 miles [8,159.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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- Burns) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Burns 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 Burns, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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.
<5>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 Burns to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Burns. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.8384, Longitude: -85.6066       In this case, the coordinates for Burns have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.979 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.526 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.747 degrees.