Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Swift, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Swift and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Swift
- 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 Swift:
- 30.376310, -87.626373
- 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 Swift
- 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 Baldwin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Baldwin County
- Since Swift is near Escambia County and also Santa Rosa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Escambia County
- eBird sighting report for Santa Rosa 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 Swift ...
We found fourteen communities that share the name Swift.
Within Alabama, the name Swift is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another fourteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these fourteen communities, thirteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- British Columbia
- This Swift lies 2,276 miles [3,662.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Swift that is located in Baldwin County.
- Florida
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Ohio
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Washington
- British Columbia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Swift ...
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.
- Clay City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest) - Fobbs Ferry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fobbs Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fobbs Ferry
- Fobbs Ferry is located in Baldwin County
- Gulf Beach ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Beach
- Gulf Beach is located in Escambia County (FL)
- Gulf Shores
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gulf Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Shores
- Gulf Shores is located in Baldwin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,166 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gulf Shores <5>
- Joseph Cruzat Grant
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Joseph Cruzat Grant have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joseph Cruzat Grant
- Joseph Cruzat Grant is located in Escambia County (FL)
- Josephine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Magnolia Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Springs
- Magnolia Springs is located in Baldwin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Magnolia Springs <5>
- Orange Beach
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orange Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Beach
- Orange Beach is located in Baldwin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,343 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orange Beach <5>
- Oyster Bay
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyster Bay
- Oyster Bay is located in Baldwin County
- Paradise Beach
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Beach
- Paradise Beach is located in Escambia County (FL)
- River Park
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Park
- River Park is located in Baldwin County
- Silverhill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silverhill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverhill
- Silverhill is located in Baldwin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,285 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silverhill <5>
- Summerdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summerdale have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerdale
- Summerdale is located in Baldwin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,792 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Summerdale <5>
- Turkey Branch
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turkey Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Branch
- Turkey Branch is located in Baldwin County
How Far From Swift 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 Swift to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Swift and extending to:
- Bay Minette, which is the Seat of Baldwin County, lies 36 miles [57.9 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Swift to Bay Minette, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 158 miles [254.3 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 840 miles [1,351.8 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 48 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,736 miles [10,840.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,435 miles [11,965.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,315 miles [8,553.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Swift. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Baldwin County: www.co.baldwin.al.us/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Swift) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Swift. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.3763, Longitude: -87.6264 In this case, the coordinates for Swift 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Swift 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> | 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 Swift, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Swift 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 313.918 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.137 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.224 degrees. |