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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Cottondale:
    • 31.205176, -85.381878
    • 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 Cottondale
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Houston County
    • Since Cottondale is near Dale County and also Geneva County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Dale County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Geneva 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 Cottondale

Communities Also Named Cottondale ...

We found six communities that are also named Cottondale.

There is one other community in Alabama that is also named Cottondale.

Beyond Alabama, we know of five communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Located In Alabama ...
    • Tuscaloosa County
      • This Cottondale is located in Tuscaloosa County and lies 182 miles [292.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Cottondale that is located in Houston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscaloosa County community of Cottondale.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Jefferson County
      • This Cottondale is located in Jefferson County and lies 428 miles [688.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Cottondale that is located in Houston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Cottondale.
    • Florida
      • Jackson County
      • This Cottondale is located in Jackson County and lies 28 miles [45.1 km]<1> to the south of the Cottondale that is located in Houston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Cottondale.
    • Georgia
      • Terrell County
      • This Cottondale is located in Terrell County and lies 73 miles [117.5 km]<1> to the northeast of the Cottondale that is located in Houston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Terrell County community of Cottondale.
    • Mississippi
      • Sunflower County
      • This Cottondale is located in Sunflower County and lies 346 miles [556.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Cottondale that is located in Houston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sunflower County community of Cottondale.
    • Texas
      • Wise County
      • This Cottondale is located in Wise County and lies 731 miles [1,176.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Cottondale that is located in Houston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wise County community of Cottondale.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Cottondale ...

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.

  • Chickasaw Heights
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Chickasaw Heights is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chickasaw Heights
  • Forest Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Forest Park is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Park
  • Griffin Heights
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Griffin Heights is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin Heights
  • Melody Heights
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Melody Heights is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melody Heights
  • Parish
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Shady Heights
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Shady Heights is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Heights
  • Silver Meadows
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Silver Meadows is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Meadows
  • Stadium Place
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Stadium Place is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stadium Place
  • Wiregrass Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Wiregrass Hills is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiregrass Hills
  • Young America
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Young America is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young America

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

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

  • Dothan, which is the Seat of Houston County, lies just to the North Northwest.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 97 miles [156.1 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Cottondale to Montgomery, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 709 miles [1,141 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 41 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,600 miles [10,621.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,295 miles [11,740.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,177 miles [8,331.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Cottondale) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Cottondale 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 Cottondale. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.2052, Longitude: -85.3819       In this case, the coordinates for Cottondale have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.686 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.823 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.232 degrees.