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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rainbow, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rainbow 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 Rainbow:
    • 34.752591, -86.736387
    • 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 Rainbow
  • 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 Madison County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Madison County
    • Since Rainbow is near Limestone County and also Colbert County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Limestone County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Colbert 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 Rainbow

Communities Also Named Rainbow ...

We found thirteen communities that are also named Rainbow.

Within Alabama, the name Rainbow is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alaska
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alaska community of Rainbow.
    • California
      • Placer County
      • This Rainbow is located in Placer County and lies 1,876 miles [3,019.1 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Rainbow that is located in Madison County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Placer County community of Rainbow.
      • San Diego County
      • This Rainbow is located in San Diego County and lies 1,735 miles [2,792.2 km] to the west of the Rainbow that is located in Madison County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Diego County community of Rainbow.
    • Connecticut
      • Hartford County
      • This Rainbow is located in Hartford County and lies 905 miles [1,456.5 km]<2> to the northeast of the Rainbow that is located in Madison County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hartford County community of Rainbow.
    • Indiana
      • Marion County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Indiana community of Rainbow [Marion County].
    • Montana
      • Cascade County
      • This Rainbow is located in Cascade County and lies 1,537 miles [2,473.6 km]<2> to the northwest of the Rainbow that is located in Madison County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cascade County community of Rainbow.
    • New York
      • Franklin County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New York community of Rainbow [Franklin County].
    • Ohio
      • Washington County
      • This Rainbow is located in Washington County and lies 437 miles [703.3 km]<2> to the northeast of the Rainbow that is located in Madison County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Rainbow.
    • Oregon
      • Lane County
      • This Rainbow is located in Lane County and lies 1,983 miles [3,191.3 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Rainbow that is located in Madison County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lane County community of Rainbow.
    • Tennessee
      • Sevier County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Rainbow [Sevier County].
    • Texas
      • Somervell County
      • This Rainbow is located in Somervell County and lies 654 miles [1,052.5 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Rainbow that is located in Madison County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Somervell County community of Rainbow.
    • Utah
      • Uintah County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Utah community of Rainbow [Uintah County].
    • Wisconsin
      • Oneida County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Wisconsin community of Rainbow [Oneida County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rainbow ...

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.

  • Cherry Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Cherry Creek is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Creek
  • French Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • French Hill is located in Limestone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Hill
  • Green Acres
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Green Acres is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
  • Grove Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Grove Park is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Park
  • Indian Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Indian Hills is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
  • Jeff
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jeff is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
  • Maplewood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Maplewood is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
  • Rideout Village
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Rideout Village is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rideout Village
  • Rolling Meadows
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Rolling Meadows is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Meadows
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Rolling Woods
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Rolling Woods is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Woods
    • Scenic View
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Scenic View is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scenic View
    • Shady Lane
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Shady Lane is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Lane
    • Summit Place
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Summit Place is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Place
    • Union Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Union Park is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Park
    • University Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • University Park is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Park

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

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

  • Huntsville, which is the Seat of Madison County, lies just to the East.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 165 miles [265.5 km]<2> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Rainbow to Montgomery, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 607 miles [976.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,490 miles [10,444.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,203 miles [11,592.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,079 miles [8,173.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Rainbow 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.
<2>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- Rainbow) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Rainbow, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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.
<5>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 Rainbow 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 Rainbow. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.7526, Longitude: -86.7364       In this case, the coordinates for Rainbow have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.706 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.492 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.999 degrees.