RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Houston County >> Oakland Estates >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Oakland Estates:
    • 31.273230, -85.396322
    • 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 Oakland Estates
  • 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 Houston County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Houston County
    • Since Oakland Estates is near Dale County and also Henry County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Dale County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Henry 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 Oakland Estates

Communities Also Named Oakland Estates ...

We found four communities that are also named Oakland Estates.

Within Alabama, the name Oakland Estates is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Maryland
      • Charles County
      • This Oakland Estates is located in Charles County and lies 690 miles [1,110.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the Oakland Estates that is located in Houston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Charles County community of Oakland Estates.
    • Tennessee
      • Rutherford County
      • This Oakland Estates is located in Rutherford County and lies 323 miles [519.8 km]<1> to the north of the Oakland Estates that is located in Houston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rutherford County community of Oakland Estates.
    • Texas
      • Bexar County
      • This Oakland Estates is located in Bexar County and lies 794 miles [1,277.8 km]<1> to the west of the Oakland Estates that is located in Houston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bexar County community of Oakland Estates.
    • Virginia
      • Roanoke County
      • This Oakland Estates is located in Roanoke County and lies 520 miles [836.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Oakland Estates that is located in Houston County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roanoke County community of Oakland Estates.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Oakland Estates ...

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.

  • Chickasaw Heights
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Chickasaw Heights is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chickasaw Heights
  • Cottondale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Cottondale is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottondale
  • Forest Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Forest Park is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Park
  • Green Acres
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Green Acres is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
  • Griffin Heights
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Griffin Heights is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin Heights
  • Kelly Springs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Kelly Springs is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly Springs
  • Parish
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Peach Tree Hills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Peach Tree Hills is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Tree Hills
  • Rock Creek Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Rock Creek Park is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek Park
  • Shady Heights
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Shady Heights is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Heights
  • Silver Meadows
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Silver Meadows is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Meadows
  • Stadium Place
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Stadium Place is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stadium Place
  • Whispering Pines
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Whispering Pines is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
  • Young America
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Young America is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young America

How Far From Oakland Estates to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Oakland Estates to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Dothan, which is the Seat of Houston County, lies just to the South.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 92 miles [148.1 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Oakland Estates to Montgomery, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 706 miles [1,136.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 41 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,598 miles [10,618.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,293 miles [11,736.9 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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Oakland Estates) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Oakland Estates 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 Oakland Estates. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.2732, Longitude: -85.3963       In this case, the coordinates for Oakland Estates have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.699 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.847 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.223 degrees.