Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Columbia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Columbia and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Columbia
- 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 Columbia:
- 31.294018, -85.111330
- 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 Columbia
- 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 Houston County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Houston County
- Since Columbia is near Early County and also Henry County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Early County
- eBird sighting report for Henry 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 Columbia ...
We found 49 communities that share the name Columbia.
There is one other community in Alabama which is also named Columbia.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another 48 communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In Alabama ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Cherokee County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Columbia [Cherokee County].
- Ellsworth 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 Columbia [Ellsworth County].
- Lyon 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 Columbia [Lyon County].
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Caldwell Parish
- This Columbia is located in Caldwell Parish and lies 412 miles [663 km]<3> to the west of the Columbia that is located in Houston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Caldwell Parish community of Columbia.
- Saint John the Baptist Parish
- This Columbia is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish and lies 335 miles [539.1 km] to the west southwest of the Columbia that is located in Houston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint John the Baptist Parish community of Columbia.
- Maine
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Tuscola County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Columbia [Tuscola County].
- Van Buren 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 Michigan community of Columbia [Van Buren County].
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Boone County
- This Columbia is located in Boone County and lies 666 miles [1,071.8 km]<3> to the northwest of the Columbia that is located in Houston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Boone County community of Columbia.
- Saint Louis County
- This community is historic<2> and although located in Saint Louis County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Louis County community of Columbia.
- Nevada
- Elko County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nevada community of Columbia [Elko County].
- Esmeralda County
- This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nevada community of Columbia [Esmeralda County].
- Eureka County
- This community is historic and although located in Eureka County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Eureka County community of Columbia.
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Clark County
- This community is historic<2> and although located in Clark County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clark County community of Columbia.
- Delaware County
- Although located in Delaware County, we don't know the location within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Delaware County community of Columbia.
- Hamilton County
- This Columbia is located in Hamilton County and lies 541 miles [870.7 km]<3> to the north of the Columbia that is located in Houston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of Columbia.
- Stark County
- This Columbia is located in Stark County and lies 685 miles [1,102.4 km] to the north northeast of the Columbia that is located in Houston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stark County community of Columbia.
- Tuscarawas County
- This Columbia is located in Tuscarawas County and lies 671 miles [1,079.9 km] to the north northeast of the Columbia that is located in Houston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscarawas County community of Columbia.
- Williams County
- This Columbia is located in Williams County and lies 714 miles [1,149.1 km] to the north of the Columbia that is located in Houston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Williams County community of Columbia.
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Lancaster County
- This Columbia is located in Lancaster County and lies 772 miles [1,242.4 km]<3> to the northeast of the Columbia that is located in Houston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lancaster County community of Columbia.
- Venango County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Columbia [Venango County].
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- King County
- This Columbia is located in King County and lies 2,248 miles [3,617.8 km]<3> to the northwest of the Columbia that is located in Houston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the King County community of Columbia.
- Whatcom County
- This Columbia is located in Whatcom County and lies 2,272 miles [3,656.4 km] to the northwest of the Columbia that is located in Houston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Whatcom County community of Columbia.
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Columbia ...
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.
- Barber
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Cedar Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Cedar Springs is located in Early County (GA)
- Estimated population in 2019: 9,997 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Springs <5>
- Freeman
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Hebron
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Liberty
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Luke
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Pleasant Plains
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plains
- Pleasant Plains is located in Houston County
- Rock Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Columbia 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 Columbia to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Columbia and extending to:
- Dothan, which is the Seat of Houston County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<3> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Columbia to Dothan, 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 five to six hours.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 102 miles [164.2 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 694 miles [1,116.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,584 miles [10,595.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,279 miles [11,714.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,160 miles [8,304.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Columbia. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Houston County: www.houstoncounty.org/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Columbia 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. |
| <2> | 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 Columbia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Columbia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Columbia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.2940, Longitude: -85.1113 |
| <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 Columbia 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 312.537 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.662 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.114 degrees. |