Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in McDowell Ferry, we use the following websites to find information relevant to McDowell Ferry and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for McDowell Ferry
- 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 McDowell Ferry:
- 32.522914, -87.900293
- 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 McDowell Ferry
- 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 Sumter County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Sumter County
- Since McDowell Ferry is near Marengo County and also Greene County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Marengo County
- eBird sighting report for Greene 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near McDowell Ferry ...
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.
- Alfalfa
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Baptist Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baptist Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baptist Hill
- Baptist Hill is located in Marengo County
- Birdeye
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Dug Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Forkland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forkland
- Forkland is located in Greene County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 583 people
- Glovers Ferry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glovers Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glovers Ferry
- Glovers Ferry is located in Greene County
- Hall Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hall Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hall Creek
- Hall Creek is located in Sumter County
- Merryweathers Ferry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merryweathers Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merryweathers Ferry
- Merryweathers Ferry is located in Greene County
- Moscow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Rockcut
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Roe Landing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roe Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roe Landing
- Roe Landing is located in Greene County
- Salt Well
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Shortleaf
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
How Far From McDowell Ferry 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 McDowell Ferry to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in McDowell Ferry and extending to:
- Livingston, which is the Seat of Sumter County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from McDowell Ferry to Livingston, with an average speed<3> 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 93 miles [149.7 km] to the east (E). 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 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 750 miles [1,207 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 43 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,645 miles [10,694.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,353 miles [11,833.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,230 miles [8,416.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for McDowell Ferry. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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- McDowell Ferry) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in McDowell Ferry. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.5229, Longitude: -87.9003 In this case, the coordinates for McDowell Ferry have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 McDowell Ferry to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.267 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.835 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.937 degrees. |