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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Vandiver, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vandiver and the surrounding area.
- 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 Vandiver:
- 33.470829, -86.513558
- 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 Vandiver
- 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 Shelby County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Shelby County
- Since Vandiver is near Blount County and also Jefferson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Blount 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 Vandiver
Communities Also Named Vandiver ...
We found three communities that are also named Vandiver.
Within Alabama, the name Vandiver is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of three communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Franklin County
- This Vandiver is located in Franklin County and lies 197 miles [317 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Vandiver that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Vandiver.
- Rabun 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 Vandiver [Rabun County].
- Missouri
- Audrain County
- This Vandiver is located in Audrain County and lies 492 miles [791.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Vandiver that is located in Shelby County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Audrain County community of Vandiver.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Vandiver ...
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.
- Braggsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Braggsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braggsville
- Cedar Grove ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Grove is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Cloverdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cloverdale is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Heritage Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Heritage Park is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Park
- Hundred Oaks
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Hundred Oaks is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hundred Oaks
- Maplewood
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Maplewood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
- Moody
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Moore Corner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Moore Corner is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Corner
- Oak Crossing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Crossing is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Crossing
- Pleasant Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Shoal Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wolf Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Wolf Creek is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Creek
- Woodland Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
How Far From Vandiver 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 Vandiver to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Vandiver and extending to:
- Columbiana, which is the Seat of Shelby County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Vandiver to Columbiana, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 76 miles [122.3 km] to the south (S). 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 647 miles [1,041.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,542 miles [10,528.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,249 miles [11,666.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,126 miles [8,249.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Vandiver) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Vandiver 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> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Vandiver 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 Vandiver. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.4708, Longitude: -86.5136 |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.50 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.077 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.191 degrees. |
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