Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in The Downs, we use the following websites to find information relevant to The Downs and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for The Downs
- 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 The Downs:
- 33.190397, -87.547506
- 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 The Downs
- 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 Tuscaloosa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Tuscaloosa County
- Since The Downs is near Hale County and also Greene County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hale 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
Communities Also Named The Downs ...
We found fourteen communities that share the name The Downs.
There is one other community in Alabama which is also named The Downs.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In Alabama ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Warren County
- This The Downs is located in Warren County and lies 279 miles [449 km]<1> to the east of the The Downs that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of The Downs.
- Washington County
- This The Downs is located in Washington County and lies 281 miles [452.2 km] to the east of the The Downs that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of The Downs.
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Maryland
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Utah
- Salt Lake County
- This The Downs is located in Salt Lake County and lies 1,430 miles [2,301.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the The Downs that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Salt Lake County community of The Downs.
- Weber County
- This The Downs is located in Weber County and lies 1,448 miles [2,330.3 km] to the west northwest of the The Downs that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Weber County community of The Downs.
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Georgia
Curious and Interesting Names Near The Downs ...
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.
- Cedar Crest
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Crest have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Crest
- Cedar Crest is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Cedar Knoll
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Knoll have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Knoll
- Cedar Knoll is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Cherry Dale
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Dale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Dale
- Cherry Dale is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Cloverdale
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cloverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Cloverdale is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Dearing Place
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dearing Place have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dearing Place
- Dearing Place is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Fairway Drive
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairway Drive have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Drive
- Fairway Drive is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Forest Lake
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Lake
- Forest Lake is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Green Valley
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
- Green Valley is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Guilds Woods
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guilds Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilds Woods
- Guilds Woods is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Hickory Forest
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Forest
- Hickory Forest is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Hillcrest
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Lakeview
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Continue List (10 more) ...
- Meadow Lawn
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Lawn have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lawn
- Meadow Lawn is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Meadowbrook
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadowbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Meadowbrook is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Rosedale
(Less than 2 miles to the west) - Rosedale Courts
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosedale Courts have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale Courts
- Rosedale Courts is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Rosewood
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast) - South Park
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Park
- South Park is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Springbrook
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springbrook
- Springbrook is located in Tuscaloosa County
- University
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for University. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University
- University is located in Tuscaloosa County
- University Lane
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Lane
- University Lane is located in Tuscaloosa County
- University Place
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University Place have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Place
- University Place is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Meadow Lawn
How Far From The Downs to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as The Downs to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in The Downs and extending to:
- Tuscaloosa, which is the Seat of Tuscaloosa County, lies just to the North Northwest.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 91 miles [146.5 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from The Downs to Montgomery, with an average speed<5>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 most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 706 miles [1,136.2 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,598 miles [10,618.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,308 miles [11,761.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,184 miles [8,342.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for The Downs. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Tuscaloosa County: www.co.tuscaloosa.al.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 '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- The Downs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in The Downs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.1904, Longitude: -87.5475 In this case, the coordinates for The Downs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 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 The Downs 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> | 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 The Downs to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.104 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.737 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.664 degrees. |