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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Lorton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Lorton 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 Lorton:
    • 33.755383, -87.062222
    • 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 Lorton
  • 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 Walker County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Walker County
    • Since Lorton 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 Lorton

Communities Also Named Lorton ...

We found two communities that are also named Lorton.

Within Alabama, the name Lorton is unique.

Beyond Alabama, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Nebraska
      • Otoe County
      • This Lorton is located in Otoe County and lies 682 miles [1,097.6 km]<1> to the northwest of the Lorton that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Otoe County community of Lorton.
    • Virginia
      • Fairfax County
      • This Lorton is located in Fairfax County and lies 645 miles [1,038 km]<1> to the northeast of the Lorton that is located in Walker County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fairfax County community of Lorton.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Lorton ...

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.

  • Barney
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Barney is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
  • Bryan
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Bryan is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
  • Coon Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Coon Creek is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Creek
  • Creel
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Creel is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creel
  • Dovertown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Dovertown is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovertown
  • Empire
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Empire is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
  • Flat Top
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Flat Top is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Top
  • Hull
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Hull is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull
  • Littleton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Littleton is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton
  • Littleton Ferry
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Littleton Ferry is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton Ferry
  • Lynns Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lynns Park is located in Walker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynns Park
  • Media
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Media is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Media
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Petes Crossroads
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Petes Crossroads is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petes Crossroads
    • Red Star
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Red Star is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star
    • Robbins Crossroads
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Robbins Crossroads is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robbins Crossroads
    • Rocky Hollow
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Rocky Hollow is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Hollow
    • Ruby ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Ruby is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
    • Snowtown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Snowtown is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowtown
    • Vulcan
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Vulcan is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vulcan

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

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

  • Jasper, which is the Seat of Walker County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Lorton to Jasper, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours 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 104 miles [167.4 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 4 days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 660 miles [1,062.2 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 6,551 miles [10,542.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,261 miles [11,685.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,137 miles [8,267.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Lorton) 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 Lorton 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 Lorton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.7554, Longitude: -87.0622       In this case, the coordinates for Lorton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.848 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.518 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.351 degrees.