Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Harrell, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Harrell and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Harrell
- 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 Harrell:
- 32.443263, -87.215872
- 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 Harrell
- 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 Dallas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Dallas County
- Since Harrell is near Perry County and also Wilcox County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Perry County
- eBird sighting report for Wilcox 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 Harrell ...
We found two communities that share the name Harrell.
Within Alabama, the name Harrell is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Indiana
Curious and Interesting Names Near Harrell ...
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.
- Eleanor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Fortune Ferry
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fortune Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fortune Ferry
- Fortune Ferry is located in Dallas County
- Marion Junction
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion Junction
- Marion Junction is located in Dallas County
- Marshall
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Martin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Norman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest) - Oak Grove ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Potter
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Sunset Mill Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Mill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Mill Village
- Sunset Mill Village is located in Dallas County
- Trinity
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
How Far From Harrell 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 Harrell to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Harrell and extending to:
- Selma, which is the Seat of Dallas County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Harrell to Selma, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 53 miles [85.3 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 723 miles [1,163.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 41 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,620 miles [10,653.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,326 miles [11,790.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,203 miles [8,373.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Harrell. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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- Harrell) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Harrell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.4433, Longitude: -87.2159 In this case, the coordinates for Harrell 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 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 Harrell 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> | 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 Harrell 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 313.851 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.341 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.682 degrees. |