RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Jefferson County >> Thomas Acres >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Thomas Acres, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Thomas Acres and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Thomas Acres:
    • 33.379555, -86.980826
    • 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 Thomas Acres
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
    • Since Thomas Acres is near Shelby County and also Tuscaloosa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Shelby County
    • Open the 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Thomas Acres

Communities Also Named Thomas Acres ...

We found one communities that are also named Thomas Acres.

Within Alabama, the name Thomas Acres is unique.

Beyond Alabama, there is another community also named Thomas Acres in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Georgia
      • Worth County
      • This Thomas Acres is located in Worth County and lies 215 miles [346 km]<1> to the southeast of the Thomas Acres that is located in Jefferson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Worth County community of Thomas Acres.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Thomas Acres ...

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 northeast)
    • Cloverdale is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
  • Flint Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Flint Hill is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Hill
  • Glen Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Glen Hills is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Hills
  • Hickory Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Hickory Grove is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
  • Hilltop
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hilltop is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
  • Hopewell
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hopewell is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
  • Laceys Chapel
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Laceys Chapel is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laceys Chapel
  • Loveless Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Loveless Park is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveless Park
  • Pauls Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pauls Hill is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pauls Hill
  • Pine Crest
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Pine Crest is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Crest
  • Pleasant Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Hill is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
  • Red Hill Heights
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Red Hill Heights is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill Heights
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Rice
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Rice is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice
    • Rockdale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Rockdale is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
    • Shady Brook
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Shady Brook is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Brook
    • Skyview
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Skyview is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyview

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

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

  • Birmingham, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Thomas Acres to Birmingham, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five 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 672 miles [1,081.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 39 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,565 miles [10,565.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,274 miles [11,706.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,151 miles [8,289.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Thomas Acres) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Thomas Acres 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 Thomas Acres. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.3796, Longitude: -86.9808       In this case, the coordinates for Thomas Acres have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.775 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.382 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.398 degrees.