Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sterling, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sterling and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sterling
- 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 Sterling:
- 34.243149, -85.506071
- 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 Sterling
- 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 Cherokee County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Cherokee County
- Since Sterling is near Floyd County and also Chattooga County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Floyd County
- eBird sighting report for Chattooga 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 Sterling ...
We found 41 communities that share the name Sterling.
Within Alabama, the name Sterling is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another 41 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 41 communities, 40 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alaska
- This Sterling lies 3,363 miles [5,412.2 km]<1> to the northwest of the Sterling that is located in Cherokee County.
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Hillsborough County
- This Sterling is located in Hillsborough County and lies 470 miles [756.4 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Sterling that is located in Cherokee County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Sterling.
- Miami-Dade County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Florida community of Sterling [Miami-Dade County].
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Logan County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Sterling [Logan County].
- Rice County
- This Sterling is located in Rice County and lies 757 miles [1,218.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Sterling that is located in Cherokee County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rice County community of Sterling.
- Louisiana
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Arenac County
- This Sterling is located in Arenac County and lies 680 miles [1,094.4 km]<1> to the north of the Sterling that is located in Cherokee County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Arenac County community of Sterling.
- Macomb County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Sterling [Macomb County].
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New York
- North Carolina
- Mecklenburg County
- This Sterling is located in Mecklenburg County and lies 269 miles [432.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Sterling that is located in Cherokee County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mecklenburg County community of Sterling.
- Robeson County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Sterling [Robeson County].
- North Dakota
- Nova Scotia
- This Sterling lies 1,569 miles [2,525.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Sterling that is located in Cherokee County.
- Ohio
- Meigs County
- This community is historic<2> and although located in Meigs County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Meigs County community of Sterling.
- Wayne County
- This Sterling is located in Wayne County and lies 505 miles [812.7 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Sterling that is located in Cherokee County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Sterling.
- Oklahoma
- Comanche County
- This Sterling is located in Comanche County and lies 721 miles [1,160.3 km]<1> to the west of the Sterling that is located in Cherokee County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Comanche County community of Sterling.
- Woods County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Oklahoma community of Sterling [Woods County].
- Pennsylvania
- Clearfield County
- This Sterling is located in Clearfield County and lies 600 miles [965.6 km]<1> to the northeast of the Sterling that is located in Cherokee County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clearfield County community of Sterling.
- Wayne County
- This Sterling is located in Wayne County and lies 737 miles [1,186.1 km] to the northeast of the Sterling that is located in Cherokee County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Sterling.
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Boone County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the West Virginia community of Sterling [Boone County].
- Wetzel County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the West Virginia community of Sterling [Wetzel County].
- Wisconsin
- Alaska
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sterling ...
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.
- Alexis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Cedar Bluff
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bluff
- Cedar Bluff is located in Cherokee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,829 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Bluff <5>
- Cedar Springs ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Cedar Springs is located in Cherokee County
- Cornwall
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Cornwall Furnace
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornwall Furnace have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall Furnace
- Cornwall Furnace is located in Cherokee County
- Dewey
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Early ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Grantville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grantville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantville
- Grantville is located in Cherokee County
- Hall Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hall Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hall Valley
- Hall Valley is located in Cherokee County
- Kirk's Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk's Grove
- Kirk's Grove is located in Cherokee County
- Mount Hope ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Mount Hope is located in Floyd County (GA)
How Far From Sterling 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 Sterling to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Sterling once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Sterling and extending to:
- Centre, which is the Seat of Cherokee County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Sterling to Centre, with an average speed<6> 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 136 miles [218.9 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 568 miles [914.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 33 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,463 miles [10,401.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,171 miles [11,540.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,047 miles [8,122.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
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- Sterling) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sterling. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.2431, Longitude: -85.5061 In this case, the coordinates for Sterling have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Sterling, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 Sterling 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. |
| <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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Sterling to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.938 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.536 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.613 degrees. |