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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 Vann, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vann 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 Vann:
- 31.209343, -85.384933
- 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 Vann
- 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 Houston County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Houston County
- Since Vann is near Dale County and also Geneva County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Dale County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Geneva 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 Vann
Communities Also Named Vann ...
We found two communities that are also named Vann.
Within Alabama, the name Vann is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Lake County
- This Vann is located in Lake County and lies 2,173 miles [3,497.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Vann that is located in Houston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lake County community of Vann.
- Oklahoma
- Wagoner 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 Oklahoma community of Vann [Wagoner County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Vann ...
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.
- Chickasaw Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Chickasaw Heights is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chickasaw Heights
- Cottondale
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Cottondale is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottondale
- Forest Park
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Forest Park is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Park
- Griffin Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Griffin Heights is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin Heights
- Melody Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Melody Heights is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melody Heights
- Parish
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Rock Creek Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rock Creek Park is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek Park
- Shady Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Shady Heights is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Heights
- Silver Meadows
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Silver Meadows is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Meadows
- Stadium Place
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Stadium Place is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stadium Place
- Wiregrass Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Wiregrass Hills is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiregrass Hills
- Young America
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Young America is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young America
How Far From Vann 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 Vann to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Vann and extending to:
- Dothan, which is the Seat of Houston County, lies just to the North Northwest.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 96 miles [154.5 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Vann to Montgomery, with an average speed<4>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 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 709 miles [1,141 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 41 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,600 miles [10,621.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,295 miles [11,740.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,177 miles [8,331.6 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Vann) 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Vann 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 Vann 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 Vann. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.2093, Longitude: -85.3849 In this case, the coordinates for Vann have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.688 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.826 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.232 degrees. |
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