Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Chatom, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Chatom and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Chatom
- 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 Chatom:
- 31.464838, -88.254370
- 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 Chatom
- 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Washington County
- Since Chatom is near Wayne County and also Greene County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Wayne County
- eBird sighting report for Greene 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 Chatom ...
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.
- Ballfield Landing
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ballfield Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballfield Landing
- Ballfield Landing is located in Clarke County
- Carpenter
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Four Point
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Point
- Four Point is located in Washington County
- Frankville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankville
- Frankville is located in Washington County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Frankville
- From Chatom to Frankville
- Fruitdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitdale
- Fruitdale is located in Washington County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Fruitdale
- From Chatom to Fruitdale
- Healing Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Healing Springs. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Healing Springs
- Healing Springs is located in Washington County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Healing Springs
- From Chatom to Healing Springs
- Jordan
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Oil Well Landing
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oil Well Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil Well Landing
- Oil Well Landing is located in Washington County
- Seaboard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Seaboard. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seaboard
- Seaboard is located in Washington County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Seaboard
- From Chatom to Seaboard
- Shady Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Shady Grove is located in Washington County
- Uniform
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Vinegar Bend
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinegar Bend
- Vinegar Bend is located in Washington County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Vinegar Bend
- From Chatom to Vinegar Bend
- Yellow Pine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Pine
- Yellow Pine is located in Washington County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Yellow Pine
- From Chatom to Yellow Pine
How Far From Chatom 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 town such as Chatom to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Chatom and extending to:
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 130 miles [209.2 km]<3> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Chatom to Montgomery, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 813 miles [1,308.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 47 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,711 miles [10,800.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,416 miles [11,934.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,293 miles [8,518.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Chatom. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Washington County: www.washingtoncountyalgov.com
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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Chatom) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Chatom. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.4648, Longitude: -88.2544 |
| <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 Chatom to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.39 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.833 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.272 degrees. |