Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sloss, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sloss and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sloss
- 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 Sloss:
- 33.396499, -86.940270
- 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 Sloss
- 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 Jefferson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
- Since Sloss is near Shelby County and also Tuscaloosa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Shelby County
- eBird sighting report for Tuscaloosa 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 Sloss ...
We found two communities that share the name Sloss.
There is one other community in Alabama which is also named Sloss.
Beyond Alabama, there is another community also named Sloss in the United States.
- Communities Located In Alabama ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sloss ...
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.
- Cloverdale
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cloverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Cloverdale is located in Jefferson County
- Crescent Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crescent Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Heights
- Crescent Heights is located in Jefferson County
- Glen Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Hills
- Glen Hills is located in Jefferson County
- Gordon Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gordon Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon Heights
- Gordon Heights is located in Jefferson County
- Hillman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Hilltop
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Hopewell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Laceys Chapel
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laceys Chapel have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laceys Chapel
- Laceys Chapel is located in Jefferson County
- Pauls Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pauls Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pauls Hill
- Pauls Hill is located in Jefferson County
- Pine Crest
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Crest have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Crest
- Pine Crest is located in Jefferson County
- Rice
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Shady Brook
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Brook
- Shady Brook is located in Jefferson County
- Skyview
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
How Far From Sloss 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 Sloss to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sloss and extending to:
- Birmingham, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Sloss to Birmingham, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 79 miles [127.1 km] to the south southeast (SSE). 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 669 miles [1,076.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,563 miles [10,562.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,272 miles [11,703.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,148 miles [8,284.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sloss. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Jefferson County: www.jeffcointouch.com/
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- Sloss) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sloss. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.3965, Longitude: -86.9403 In this case, the coordinates for Sloss 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 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 Sloss 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> | 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. |
| <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 Sloss to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.752 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.358 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.378 degrees. |