Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Mahan, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mahan and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Mahan
- 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 Mahan:
- 34.573696, -85.812749
- 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 Mahan
- 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 DeKalb County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for DeKalb County
- Since Mahan is near Jackson County and also Cherokee County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson County
- eBird sighting report for Cherokee 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 Mahan ...
We found six communities that share the name Mahan.
Within Alabama, the name Mahan is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Louisiana
- Missouri
- Oregon
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Mahan ...
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.
- Blake
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Central
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Central is located in Jackson County
- Council Bluff
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Council Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council Bluff
- Council Bluff is located in DeKalb County
- Elliott Crossroads
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elliott Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott Crossroads
- Elliott Crossroads is located in DeKalb County
- Gray ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - High Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for High Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
- High Point is located in DeKalb County
- Index ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Mays Gulf ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - New Home
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Plainview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Pope
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Rainsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rainsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainsville
- Rainsville is located in DeKalb County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,149 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rainsville <4>
- Snake Creek ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snake Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snake Creek
- Snake Creek is located in DeKalb County
- Stamp
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
How Far From Mahan 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 Mahan to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Mahan once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Mahan and extending to:
- Fort Payne, which is the Seat of DeKalb County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Mahan to Fort Payne, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 154 miles [247.8 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 569 miles [915.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 33 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,460 miles [10,396.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,170 miles [11,539 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,046 miles [8,120.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for DeKalb County: www.dekalbcountyal.us/
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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Mahan) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mahan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.5737, Longitude: -85.8127 In this case, the coordinates for Mahan 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 Mahan, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Mahan to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.137 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.812 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.66 degrees. |