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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Odena, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Odena 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 Odena:
    • 33.210948, -86.278586
    • 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 Odena
  • 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 Talladega County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Talladega County
    • Since Odena is near Shelby County and also Coosa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Shelby County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Coosa 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 Odena

Communities Also Named Odena ...

We found two communities that are also named Odena.

Within Alabama, the name Odena is unique.

Beyond Alabama, we know of two communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Florida
      • Gulf County
      • This Odena is located in Gulf County and lies 248 miles [399.1 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Odena that is located in Talladega County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gulf County community of Odena.
    • Ontario
      • This Odena lies 928 miles [1,493.5 km]<1> to the north of the Odena that is located in Talladega County.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Odena ...

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.

  • Five Points
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Five Points is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
  • Grove Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Grove Park is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Park
  • Indian Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Indian Hill is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hill
  • Lake Joy
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Joy is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Joy
  • Liberty Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Liberty Hill is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
  • Minor Terrace
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Minor Terrace is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor Terrace
  • Mount Sharon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Mount Sharon is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sharon
  • Oak Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Oak Grove is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 513 people
  • Papertown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Papertown is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Papertown
  • Pleasant Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Pleasant Hill is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
  • Risers
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Risers is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Risers
  • Sunrise
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Sunrise is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise
  • Warm Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Warm Springs is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warm Springs

How Far From Odena 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 Odena 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<2> community of Odena once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Odena and extending to:

  • Talladega, which is the Seat of Talladega County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Odena to Talladega, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over 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 57 miles [91.7 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 647 miles [1,041.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,544 miles [10,531.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,250 miles [11,667.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,127 miles [8,251.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Odena) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Odena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Odena 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 Odena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.2109, Longitude: -86.2786       In this case, the coordinates for Odena have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.344 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.861 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.154 degrees.