Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Dawson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Dawson and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Dawson
- 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 Dawson:
- 34.303925, -85.926066
- 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 Dawson
- 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 DeKalb County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for DeKalb County
- Since Dawson is near Cherokee County and also Etowah County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cherokee County
- eBird sighting report for Etowah 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 Dawson ...
We found 28 communities that share the name Dawson.
Within Alabama, the name Dawson is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another 28 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 28 communities, 26 are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Manitoba
- We haven't found the location of this community yet.
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nodaway 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 Missouri community of Dawson [Nodaway County].
- Wright County
- This Dawson is located in Wright County and lies 411 miles [661.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Dawson that is located in DeKalb County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wright County community of Dawson.
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Beaver County
- This Dawson is located in Beaver County and lies 535 miles [861 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Dawson that is located in DeKalb County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Beaver County community of Dawson.
- Cambria 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 Pennsylvania community of Dawson [Cambria County].
- Fayette County
- This Dawson is located in Fayette County and lies 525 miles [844.9 km] to the northeast of the Dawson that is located in DeKalb County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Dawson.
- Forest 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 Pennsylvania community of Dawson [Forest County].
- Texas
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Yukon
- This Dawson lies 3,024 miles [4,866.7 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Dawson that is located in DeKalb County.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Dawson ...
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.
- Clyde ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Crossville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossville
- Crossville is located in DeKalb County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,847 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crossville <5>
- Flanders
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Geraldine
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geraldine
- Geraldine is located in DeKalb County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Geraldine <5>
- Gilbert Crossroads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilbert Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert Crossroads
- Gilbert Crossroads is located in DeKalb County
- Homer ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Lakeview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Marcus ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Peeks Corner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peeks Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peeks Corner
- Peeks Corner is located in DeKalb County
- Portersville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portersville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portersville
- Portersville is located in DeKalb County
How Far From Dawson 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 Dawson to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Dawson and extending to:
- Fort Payne, which is the Seat of DeKalb County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Dawson to Fort Payne, 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 four to five hours.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 134 miles [215.7 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 585 miles [941.5 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<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,478 miles [10,425.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,187 miles [11,566.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,063 miles [8,148.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Dawson. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for DeKalb County: www.dekalbcountyal.us/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
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- Dawson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dawson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.3039, Longitude: -85.9261 |
| <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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Dawson 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 Dawson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Dawson 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 313.193 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.838 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.769 degrees. |