Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Highmound, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Highmound and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Highmound
- 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 Highmound:
- 34.143754, -86.378358
- 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 Highmound
- 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 Blount County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Blount County
- Since Highmound is near Marshall County and also Etowah County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Marshall 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Highmound ...
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.
- Big Spring ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Big Spring is located in Marshall County
- Bright Star
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bright Star. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Star
- Bright Star is located in Blount County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Bright Star
- From Highmound to Bright Star
- Clarence
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Clarence is located in Blount County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Clarence
- From Highmound to Clarence
- Craig
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Craig. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
- Craig is located in Blount County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Craig
- From Highmound to Craig
- Fowler ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Fridays Crossing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fridays Crossing
- Fridays Crossing is located in Blount County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Fridays Crossing
- From Highmound to Fridays Crossing
- New Home
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Nixon Chapel
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nixon Chapel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixon Chapel
- Nixon Chapel is located in Marshall County
- Old Snead
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Susan Moore
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susan Moore
- Susan Moore is located in Blount County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 797 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Susan Moore
- From Highmound to Susan Moore
- Walnut Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Walnut Grove is located in Etowah County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Walnut Grove
- From Highmound to Walnut Grove
How Far From Highmound 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 Highmound to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Highmound and extending to:
- Oneonta, which is the Seat of Blount County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<3> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Highmound to Oneonta, with an average speed<4> 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 122 miles [196.3 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 613 miles [986.5 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,504 miles [10,467.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,214 miles [11,609.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,090 miles [8,191.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Highmound. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Blount County: www.co.blount.al.us/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- Highmound) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Highmound. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.1438, Longitude: -86.3784 |
| <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 Highmound 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 313.457 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.121 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.989 degrees. |