Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Francis, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Francis and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Francis
- 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 Francis:
- 33.774821, -86.033582
- 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 Francis
- 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 Calhoun County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Calhoun County
- Since Francis is near Saint Clair County and also Etowah County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Saint Clair 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 Francis ...
We found 23 communities that share the name Francis.
There is one other community in Alabama which is also named Francis.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another 22 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 22 communities, 22 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Located In Alabama ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- California
- Florida
- Hillsborough County
- This Francis is located in Hillsborough County and lies 453 miles [729 km]<2> to the south southeast of the Francis that is located in Calhoun County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Francis.
- Putnam County
- This Francis is located in Putnam County and lies 382 miles [614.8 km] to the southeast of the Francis that is located in Calhoun County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Putnam County community of Francis.
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Audrain 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 Missouri community of Francis [Audrain County].
- Pulaski 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 Missouri community of Francis [Pulaski County].
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- Eddy County
- Although located in Eddy County, we don't know the location within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Eddy County community of Francis.
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Saskatchewan
- This Francis lies 1,444 miles [2,323.9 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Francis that is located in Calhoun County.
- Texas
- Utah
- West Virginia
- Harrison County
- This Francis is located in Harrison County and lies 504 miles [811.1 km]<2> to the northeast of the Francis that is located in Calhoun County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harrison County community of Francis.
- Raleigh 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 West Virginia community of Francis [Raleigh County].
- Wyoming
Curious and Interesting Names Near Francis ...
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.
- Boiling Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boiling Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Springs
- Boiling Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Boozer ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Chigger Ridge ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chigger Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Ridge
- Chigger Ridge is located in Calhoun County
- Clark ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Francis Ferry
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Francis Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francis Ferry
- Francis Ferry is located in Calhoun County
- Greensport Ferry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greensport Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greensport Ferry
- Greensport Ferry is located in Saint Clair County
- Peek's Hill ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peek's Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peek's Hill
- Peek's Hill is located in Calhoun County
- Polkville ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Ten Islands
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ten Islands have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ten Islands
- Ten Islands is located in Calhoun County
How Far From Francis 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 Francis to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Francis and extending to:
- Anniston, which is the Seat of Calhoun County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<2> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Francis to Anniston, with an average speed<5> 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 97 miles [156.1 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 three full days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 612 miles [984.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,507 miles [10,472 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,215 miles [11,611.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,091 miles [8,193.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Francis. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Calhoun County: www.calhouncounty.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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Francis 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Francis) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Francis. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.7748, Longitude: -86.0336 In this case, the coordinates for Francis have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Francis, 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 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 Francis 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 313.23 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.808 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.932 degrees. |