Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Cotton Ridge, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Cotton Ridge and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Cotton Ridge
- 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 Cotton Ridge:
- 33.662880, -86.558042
- 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 Cotton Ridge
- 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 Jefferson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
- Since Cotton Ridge is near Saint Clair County and also Blount County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Saint Clair County
- eBird sighting report for Blount 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 Cotton Ridge ...
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.
- Braggsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Braggsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braggsville
- Braggsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Chalkville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
- Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
- Clay
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
- Clay is located in Jefferson County
- Estimated population in 2015: 9,655 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clay <2>
- Eagle Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Ridge
- Eagle Ridge is located in Jefferson County
- Echo Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Echo Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Hills
- Echo Hills is located in Jefferson County
- Hundred Oaks
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hundred Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hundred Oaks
- Hundred Oaks is located in Saint Clair County
- Margaret
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Margaret have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Margaret
- Margaret is located in Saint Clair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,287 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Margaret <2>
- Misty Pines
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Misty Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Misty Pines
- Misty Pines is located in Saint Clair County
- Parsons
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Rolling Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolling Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Hills
- Rolling Hills is located in Jefferson County
- Roper
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Saddlewood
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saddlewood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saddlewood
- Saddlewood is located in Jefferson County
- Sunnyside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Cotton Ridge to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Cotton Ridge to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Cotton Ridge and extending to:
- Birmingham, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<3> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Cotton Ridge to Birmingham, 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 90 miles [144.8 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 640 miles [1,030 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,534 miles [10,515.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,243 miles [11,656.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,119 miles [8,238.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Cotton Ridge. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Jefferson County: www.jeffcointouch.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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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- Cotton Ridge) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cotton Ridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.6629, Longitude: -86.5580 In this case, the coordinates for Cotton Ridge have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Cotton Ridge 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 313.538 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.148 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.167 degrees. |