Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Houston, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Houston and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Houston
- 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 Houston:
- 34.141492, -87.258069
- 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 Houston
- 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 Winston County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Winston County
- Since Houston is near Cullman County and also Walker County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cullman County
- eBird sighting report for Walker 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 Houston ...
We found 28 communities that share the name Houston.
Within Alabama, the name Houston is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another 28 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 28 communities, 27 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alaska
- This Houston lies 3,282 miles [5,281.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Houston that is located in Winston County.
- Arkansas
- British Columbia
- This Houston lies 2,350 miles [3,782 km]<1> to the northwest of the Houston that is located in Winston County.
- California
- Shasta County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Houston [Shasta County].
- Siskiyou County
- This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Houston [Siskiyou County].
- Colorado
- Delaware
- Kent County
- This Houston is located in Kent County and lies 729 miles [1,173.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Houston that is located in Winston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kent County community of Houston.
- Sussex County
- This Houston is located in Sussex County and lies 739 miles [1,189.3 km] to the east northeast of the Houston that is located in Winston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sussex County community of Houston.
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Chickasaw County
- This Houston is located in Chickasaw County and lies 101 miles [162.5 km]<1> to the west of the Houston that is located in Winston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chickasaw County community of Houston.
- Lauderdale County
- This Houston is located in Lauderdale County and lies 145 miles [233.4 km] to the southwest of the Houston that is located in Winston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lauderdale County community of Houston.
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- North Carolina
- Rowan County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Houston [Rowan County].
- Union County
- This Houston is located in Union County and lies 381 miles [613.2 km]<1> to the east of the Houston that is located in Winston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Union County community of Houston.
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
- Alaska
Curious and Interesting Names Near Houston ...
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.
- Chances Crossroad
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chances Crossroad
- Chances Crossroad is located in Cullman County
- Crane Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crane Hill
- Crane Hill is located in Cullman County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crane Hill <4>
- Double Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Springs
- Double Springs is located in Winston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,062 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Double Springs <4>
- Eagle
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Falls City ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Falls City have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls City
- Falls City is located in Winston County
- Jones' Chapel
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones' Chapel
- Jones' Chapel is located in Cullman County
- Marylee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south) - Pleasant Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in Winston County
- Poplar Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poplar Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Springs
- Poplar Springs is located in Winston County
- Rock Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Rock Creek is located in Winston County
- Slick Ford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slick Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slick Ford
- Slick Ford is located in Winston County
- Spain Ford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spain Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spain Ford
- Spain Ford is located in Winston County
How Far From Houston 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 Houston to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Houston and extending to:
- Double Springs, which is the Seat of Winston County, lies just to the West.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 133 miles [214 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Houston to Montgomery, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 654 miles [1,052.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,540 miles [10,525.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,253 miles [11,672.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,129 miles [8,254.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Houston. 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 'straight-line' (or 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- Houston) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Houston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.1415, Longitude: -87.2581 In this case, the coordinates for Houston have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Houston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 Houston 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <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 Houston 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 313.99 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.736 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.348 degrees. |