Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Smithsonia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Smithsonia and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Smithsonia
- 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 Smithsonia:
- 34.794255, -87.879200
- 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 Smithsonia
- 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 Lauderdale County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lauderdale County
- Since Smithsonia is near Colbert County and also Tishomingo County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Colbert County
- eBird sighting report for Tishomingo 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 Smithsonia ...
We found two communities that share the name Smithsonia.
Within Alabama, the name Smithsonia is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Bibb County
- This Smithsonia is located in Bibb County and lies 282 miles [453.8 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Smithsonia that is located in Lauderdale County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bibb County community of Smithsonia.
- Oglethorpe 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 Georgia community of Smithsonia [Oglethorpe County].
- Georgia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Smithsonia ...
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.
- Cherokee
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee
- Cherokee is located in Colbert County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 999 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cherokee <3>
- Doubleheads Village ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doubleheads Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doubleheads Village
- Doubleheads Village is located in Colbert County
- Gatesville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gatesville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatesville
- Gatesville is located in Colbert County
- Georgetown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Georgetown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Georgetown is located in Colbert County
- Gravelly Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gravelly Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravelly Springs
- Gravelly Springs is located in Lauderdale County
- Green Tree ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Tree have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Tree
- Green Tree is located in Lauderdale County
- Lane Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lane Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane Springs
- Lane Springs is located in Colbert County
- Mountain Mills ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Mills
- Mountain Mills is located in Colbert County
- Pride Landing
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pride Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pride Landing
- Pride Landing is located in Colbert County
- Prides Ferry
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prides Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prides Ferry
- Prides Ferry is located in Colbert County
- Red Rock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Woodland Landing ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Landing
- Woodland Landing is located in Lauderdale County
How Far From Smithsonia 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 Smithsonia to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Smithsonia and extending to:
- Florence, which is the Seat of Lauderdale County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Smithsonia to Florence, with an average speed<5> 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 190 miles [305.8 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 662 miles [1,065.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,534 miles [10,515.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,251 miles [11,669.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,126 miles [8,249.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Smithsonia. 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Smithsonia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Smithsonia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.7943, Longitude: -87.8792 In this case, the coordinates for Smithsonia 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 Smithsonia 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Smithsonia 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 314.409 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.31 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.466 degrees. |