RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Tuscaloosa County >> Three Branches Estates >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Three Branches Estates, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Three Branches Estates and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
    • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
    • The National Weather Service forecast for Three Branches Estates
  • 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 Three Branches Estates:
    • 33.247895, -87.446115
    • 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 Three Branches Estates
  • 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 Tuscaloosa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Tuscaloosa County
    • Since Three Branches Estates is near Bibb County and also Jefferson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bibb County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson 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 Three Branches Estates

Curious and Interesting Names Near Three Branches Estates ...

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.

  • Box Springs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Box Springs is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Box Springs
  • Cherrywood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Cherrywood is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrywood
  • Cottondale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Cottonwood Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Cottonwood Park is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood Park
  • Deep Wood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Deep Wood is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Wood
  • Echo Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Echo Hill is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Hill
  • Elm Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Elm Ridge is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Ridge
  • Fleetwood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Fleetwood is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleetwood
  • Green Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Green Grove is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Grove
  • High Point
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • High Point is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
  • Hillswood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hillswood is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillswood
  • Hillview
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Hillview is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillview
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Hurricane Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Hurricane Hills is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurricane Hills
    • Kennedy Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Kennedy Park is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennedy Park
    • Lake Shore
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Shore is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shore
    • Lynn Haven
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Lynn Haven is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn Haven
    • Mariners Cove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Mariners Cove is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariners Cove
    • Old Mill Trace
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Old Mill Trace is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Mill Trace
    • Riverchase
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Riverchase is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverchase
    • Wood Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Wood Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Village
    • Woodland Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Woodland Park is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park
    • Woodland Terrace
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Woodland Terrace is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Terrace
    • Yacht Club Bay
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Yacht Club Bay is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yacht Club Bay

How Far From Three Branches Estates 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 Three Branches Estates to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Three Branches Estates and extending to:

  • Tuscaloosa, which is the Seat of Tuscaloosa County, lies just to the West Southwest.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 89 miles [143.2 km]<2> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Three Branches Estates to Montgomery, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 699 miles [1,124.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,591 miles [10,607.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,301 miles [11,749.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,177 miles [8,331.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Three Branches Estates) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Three Branches Estates 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 Three Branches Estates. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.2479, Longitude: -87.4461       In this case, the coordinates for Three Branches Estates have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.047 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.679 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.612 degrees.