RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Cullman County >> Loretto >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Loretto:
    • 34.068712, -86.916113
    • 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 Loretto
  • 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 Cullman County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cullman County
    • Since Loretto is near Blount County and also Winston County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Blount County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Winston 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 Loretto

Communities Also Named Loretto ...

We found fourteen communities that are also named Loretto.

Within Alabama, the name Loretto is unique.

Beyond Alabama, we know of fourteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these fourteen communities, twelve are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Inyo County
      • This community is historic<1> and although located in Inyo County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Inyo County community of Loretto.
    • Florida
      • Duval County
      • This Loretto is located in Duval County and lies 410 miles [659.8 km]<2> to the southeast of the Loretto that is located in Cullman County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Duval County community of Loretto.
    • Illinois
      • Livingston County
      • This Loretto is located in Livingston County and lies 484 miles [778.9 km]<2> to the north of the Loretto that is located in Cullman County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Livingston County community of Loretto.
    • Kentucky
      • Marion County
      • This Loretto is located in Marion County and lies 260 miles [418.4 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Loretto that is located in Cullman County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Loretto.
    • Maryland
      • Somerset County
      • This Loretto is located in Somerset County and lies 689 miles [1,108.8 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Loretto that is located in Cullman County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Somerset County community of Loretto.
    • Michigan
      • Dickinson County
      • This Loretto is located in Dickinson County and lies 809 miles [1,302 km]<2> to the north of the Loretto that is located in Cullman County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dickinson County community of Loretto.
    • Minnesota
      • Hennepin County
      • This Loretto is located in Hennepin County and lies 837 miles [1,347 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Loretto that is located in Cullman County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hennepin County community of Loretto.
    • Nebraska
      • Boone County
      • This Loretto is located in Boone County and lies 806 miles [1,297.1 km]<2> to the northwest of the Loretto that is located in Cullman County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Boone County community of Loretto.
    • Newfoundland and Labrador
      • This Loretto lies 1,736 miles [2,793.8 km]<2> to the northeast of the Loretto that is located in Cullman County.
    • Ohio
      • Belmont County
      • This community is historic<1> and although located in Belmont County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Belmont County community of Loretto.
    • Ontario
      • This Loretto lies 784 miles [1,261.7 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Loretto that is located in Cullman County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Cambria County
      • This Loretto is located in Cambria County and lies 635 miles [1,021.9 km]<2> to the northeast of the Loretto that is located in Cullman County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cambria County community of Loretto.
    • Tennessee
      • Lawrence County
      • This Loretto is located in Lawrence County and lies 75 miles [120.7 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Loretto that is located in Cullman County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lawrence County community of Loretto.
    • Virginia
      • Essex County
      • This Loretto is located in Essex County and lies 615 miles [989.7 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Loretto that is located in Cullman County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Essex County community of Loretto.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Loretto ...

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.

  • Center Community
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Center Community is located in Cullman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Community
  • Damascus
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Damascus is located in Cullman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
  • Dodge City
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Dodge City is located in Cullman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
  • Good Hope
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Good Hope is located in Cullman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,393 people
  • Grandview
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Grandview is located in Cullman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
  • Misty Harbor
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Misty Harbor is located in Cullman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Misty Harbor
  • Sulphur Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Sulphur Springs is located in Cullman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
  • Trimble
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Trimble is located in Cullman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimble

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

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

  • Cullman, which is the Seat of Cullman County, lies just to the North Northeast.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 122 miles [196.3 km]<2> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Loretto to Montgomery, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 641 miles [1,031.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 37 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,530 miles [10,509 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,241 miles [11,653.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,117 miles [8,235 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Loretto, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 from Point A (ie- Loretto) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Loretto 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 Loretto. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.0687, Longitude: -86.9161       In this case, the coordinates for Loretto have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.778 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.481 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.224 degrees.