Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Otho, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Otho and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Otho
- 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 Otho:
- 31.689610, -85.129653
- 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 Otho
- 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 Henry County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Henry County
- Since Otho is near Clay County and also Barbour County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Clay County
- eBird sighting report for Barbour 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 Otho ...
We found five communities that share the name Otho.
Within Alabama, the name Otho is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Ohio
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Otho ...
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.
- Cotton Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cotton Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Hill
- Cotton Hill is located in Clay County (GA)
- Days Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Days Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Days Crossroads
- Days Crossroads is located in Clay County (GA)
- Jones Crossing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jones Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Crossing
- Jones Crossing is located in Clay County (GA)
- Pecan
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Pleasant Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in Barbour County
- Richards Crossroads
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richards Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richards Crossroads
- Richards Crossroads is located in Barbour County
- Sandy Point
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy Point have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Point
- Sandy Point is located in Barbour County
- Screamer
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamer
- Screamer is located in Henry County
- Shorterville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shorterville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorterville
- Shorterville is located in Henry County
How Far From Otho 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 Otho to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Otho and extending to:
- Abbeville, which is the Seat of Henry County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Otho to Abbeville, 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 83 miles [133.6 km] to the northwest (NW). 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 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 674 miles [1,084.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 39 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,567 miles [10,568.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,263 miles [11,688.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,144 miles [8,278.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Otho. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
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- Otho) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Otho. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.6896, Longitude: -85.1297 In this case, the coordinates for Otho have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Otho 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> | 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 Otho, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <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 Otho 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 312.574 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.76 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.037 degrees. |