Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Athens, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Athens and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Athens
- 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 Athens:
- 34.315403, -93.977205
- 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 Athens
- 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 Howard County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Howard County
- Since Athens is near Pike County and also Calhoun County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Pike County
- eBird sighting report for Calhoun 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 Athens ...
We found 28 communities that share the name Athens.
Within Arkansas, the name Athens is unique.
Beyond Arkansas, we know of another 28 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 28 communities, 27 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- California
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Jewell 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 Kansas community of Athens [Jewell County].
- Woodson County
- This Athens is located in Woodson County and lies 264 miles [424.9 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Athens that is located in Howard County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Woodson County community of Athens.
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Athens lies 1,191 miles [1,916.7 km]<1> to the northeast of the Athens that is located in Howard County.
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Athens ...
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.
- Brushy ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Cedar Hill ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Cedar Hill is located in Howard County
- Henry
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast) - Mineola
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Rough Edge ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rough Edge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rough Edge
- Rough Edge is located in Howard County
- Saline ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Slip-Up and Hitch ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slip-Up and Hitch have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slip-Up and Hitch
- Slip-Up and Hitch is located in Howard County
- Umpire
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Athens 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 Athens to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Athens and extending to:
- Nashville, which is the Seat of Howard County, lies 26 miles [41.8 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Athens to Nashville, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Little Rock, which is the State Capital of Arkansas, lies 101 miles [162.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 989 miles [1,591.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 57 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,798 miles [10,940.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,529 miles [12,116.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,407 miles [8,701.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Athens. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Arkansas: https://portal.arkansas.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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Athens) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Athens. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.3154, Longitude: -93.9772 |
| <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 Athens 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 Athens, 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 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. |
| <6> | 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 Athens to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.249 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.703 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.196 degrees. |