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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Moffat, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Moffat 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 Moffat:
    • 33.053177, -87.183052
    • 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 Moffat
  • 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 Bibb County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bibb County
    • Since Moffat is near Tuscaloosa County and also Shelby County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Tuscaloosa County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Shelby 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 Moffat

Communities Also Named Moffat ...

We found six communities that are also named Moffat.

Within Alabama, the name Moffat is unique.

Beyond Alabama, we know of six communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these six communities, three are located in the United States and three are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • British Columbia
      • This Moffat lies 2,201 miles [3,542.2 km]<1> to the northwest of the Moffat that is located in Bibb County.
    • Colorado
      • Moffat County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Moffat [Moffat County].
      • Saguache County
      • This Moffat is located in Saguache County and lies 1,103 miles [1,775.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Moffat that is located in Bibb County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saguache County community of Moffat.
    • Ontario
      • This Moffat lies 817 miles [1,314.8 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Moffat that is located in Bibb County.
    • Saskatchewan
      • This Moffat lies 1,444 miles [2,323.9 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Moffat that is located in Bibb County.
    • Texas
      • Bell County
      • This Moffat is located in Bell County and lies 614 miles [988.1 km]<1> to the west of the Moffat that is located in Bibb County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bell County community of Moffat.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Moffat ...

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.

  • Bucktown ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bucktown is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucktown
  • Choctaw Hills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Choctaw Hills is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choctaw Hills
  • Flat Top
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Flat Top is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Top
  • Italian Town
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Italian Town is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italian Town
  • Johnstown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Johnstown is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
  • Little Hope
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Little Hope is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Hope
  • Pleasant Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Hill is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
  • Pratt Ferry ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Pratt Ferry is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt Ferry
  • Primitive Ridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Primitive Ridge is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primitive Ridge
  • Red Eagle
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Red Eagle is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Eagle
  • Stacks Hill ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Stacks Hill is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stacks Hill
  • Youngbloods Ferry
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Youngbloods Ferry is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngbloods Ferry

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

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

  • Centreville, which is the Seat of Bibb County, lies just to the South Southeast.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 69 miles [111 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could walk a straight line from Moffat to Montgomery, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 695 miles [1,118.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,589 miles [10,604 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,298 miles [11,745 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,174 miles [8,326.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Moffat) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer.

Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.

Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.

Also keep in mind that Moffat could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out.
<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 Moffat 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 Moffat. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.0532, Longitude: -87.1831       In this case, the coordinates for Moffat have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.875 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.453 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.546 degrees.