RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Shelby County >> Lake Purdy >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Lake Purdy, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Lake Purdy and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Lake Purdy:
    • 33.430108, -86.680542
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Lake Purdy
  • 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 Shelby County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Shelby County
    • Since Lake Purdy is near Jefferson County and also Blount County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Blount 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Lake Purdy

Communities Also Named Lake Purdy ...

We found one communities that are also named Lake Purdy.

Within Alabama, the name Lake Purdy is unique.

Beyond Alabama, there is another community also named Lake Purdy in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • New York
      • Westchester County
      • This Lake Purdy is located in Westchester County and lies 896 miles [1,442 km]<1> to the northeast of the Lake Purdy that is located in Shelby County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Westchester County community of Lake Purdy.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Lake Purdy ...

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.

  • Camp Horne
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Camp Horne is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Horne
  • Heritage Oaks
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Heritage Oaks is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Oaks
  • Hickory Ridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hickory Ridge is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Ridge
  • Hidden Ridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Hidden Ridge is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Ridge
  • Longleaf
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Longleaf is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longleaf
  • Meadow Ridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Meadow Ridge is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Ridge
  • Meadowbrook
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
  • Riverwood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Riverwood is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverwood
  • Shoal Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
  • Shoal Run
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Shoal Run is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Run
  • Sunnymeadows
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sunnymeadows is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnymeadows
  • Tangle Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Tangle Creek is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tangle Creek
  • Thornhill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Thornhill is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornhill
  • Timber Ridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Timber Ridge is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Ridge

How Far From Lake Purdy 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 Lake Purdy to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Lake Purdy and extending to:

  • Columbiana, which is the Seat of Shelby County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Lake Purdy to Columbiana, with an average speed<2> 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 five to six hours.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 75 miles [120.7 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 656 miles [1,055.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,550 miles [10,541.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,259 miles [11,682.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,135 miles [8,264 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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 from Point A (ie- Lake Purdy) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Lake Purdy to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lake Purdy. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.4301, Longitude: -86.6805       In this case, the coordinates for Lake Purdy have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.598 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.184 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.267 degrees.