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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Polk, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Polk 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 Polk:
- 32.272362, -86.888596
- 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 Polk
- 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 Dallas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Dallas County
- Since Polk is near Lowndes County and also Autauga County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Lowndes County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Autauga 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 Polk
Communities Also Named Polk ...
We found fifteen communities that are also named Polk.
Within Alabama, the name Polk is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of fifteen communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Sacramento County
- This Polk is located in Sacramento County and lies 1,978 miles [3,183.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Polk that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sacramento County community of Polk.
- Illinois
- Will County
- This Polk is located in Will County and lies 625 miles [1,005.8 km]<1> to the north of the Polk that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Will County community of Polk.
- Iowa
- Polk 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 Iowa community of Polk [Polk County].
- Kansas
- Crawford County
- This Polk is located in Crawford County and lies 574 miles [923.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Polk that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Crawford County community of Polk.
- Missouri
- Polk County
- This Polk is located in Polk County and lies 522 miles [840.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Polk that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Polk County community of Polk.
- Nebraska
- Polk County
- This Polk is located in Polk County and lies 855 miles [1,376 km]<1> to the northwest of the Polk that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Polk County community of Polk.
- North Carolina
- Harnett 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 North Carolina community of Polk [Harnett County].
- Ohio
- Ashland County
- This Polk is located in Ashland County and lies 652 miles [1,049.3 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Polk that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ashland County community of Polk.
- Oklahoma
- Kay County
- This Polk is located in Kay County and lies 671 miles [1,079.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Polk that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kay County community of Polk.
- Oregon
- Polk 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 Oregon community of Polk [Polk County].
- Pennsylvania
- Venango County
- This Polk is located in Venango County and lies 736 miles [1,184.5 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Polk that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Venango County community of Polk.
- Tennessee
- Obion County
- This Polk is located in Obion County and lies 306 miles [492.5 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Polk that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Obion County community of Polk.
- Texas
- Bowie 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 Texas community of Polk [Bowie County].
- West Virginia
- Jackson County
- This Polk is located in Jackson County and lies 548 miles [881.9 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Polk that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Polk.
- Wisconsin
- Green 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 Wisconsin community of Polk [Green County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Polk ...
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.
- Berlin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Berlin is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Casey
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Casey is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casey
- Hicks Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Hicks Hill is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks Hill
- Jones Bluff Dam
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jones Bluff Dam is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Bluff Dam
- Kings
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kings is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings
- Pleasant Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill Station
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Trickem
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Trickem is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trickem
How Far From Polk to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Polk to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Polk and extending to:
- Selma, which is the Seat of Dallas County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Polk to Selma, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 35 miles [56.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 717 miles [1,153.9 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 6,614 miles [10,644.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,318 miles [11,777.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,196 miles [8,362.2 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- Polk) 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 Polk 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 Polk 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 Polk. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.2724, Longitude: -86.8886 In this case, the coordinates for Polk have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.644 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.078 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.588 degrees. |
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