Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shoals, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shoals and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Shoals
- 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 Shoals:
- 27.860300, -82.272900
- 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 Shoals
- 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 Hillsborough County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Hillsborough County
- Since Shoals is near Polk County and also Manatee County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Polk County
- eBird sighting report for Manatee 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 Shoals ...
We found seven communities that share the name Shoals.
Within Florida, the name Shoals is unique.
Beyond Florida, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Indiana
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Shoals ...
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.
- Cedar Grove
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Cedar Grove is located in Hillsborough County
- Creek View
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Creek View have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creek View
- Creek View is located in Hillsborough County
- Emerald Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerald Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Creek
- Emerald Creek is located in Hillsborough County
- Fishhawk Ranch
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fishhawk Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishhawk Ranch
- Fishhawk Ranch is located in Hillsborough County
- Gallery Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gallery Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallery Gardens
- Gallery Gardens is located in Hillsborough County
- Hickory Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Creek
- Hickory Creek is located in Hillsborough County
- Hickory Highlands
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Highlands have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Highlands
- Hickory Highlands is located in Hillsborough County
- Hickory Ridge
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Ridge
- Hickory Ridge is located in Hillsborough County
- Hickory Woods
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Woods
- Hickory Woods is located in Hillsborough County
- Hidden Forest
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hidden Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Forest
- Hidden Forest is located in Hillsborough County
- Hunter Place
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunter Place have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Place
- Hunter Place is located in Hillsborough County
- Indian Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- Indian Hills is located in Hillsborough County
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Leonard Woods
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leonard Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard Woods
- Leonard Woods is located in Hillsborough County
- Lynnhaven
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest) - Marvinia Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marvinia Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marvinia Hills
- Marvinia Hills is located in Hillsborough County
- Mason Oaks
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Oaks
- Mason Oaks is located in Hillsborough County
- Mays Greenglades
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mays Greenglades have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mays Greenglades
- Mays Greenglades is located in Hillsborough County
- Paddock Oaks
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paddock Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock Oaks
- Paddock Oaks is located in Hillsborough County
- Ponderosa
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest) - Ridge Dale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ridge Dale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge Dale
- Ridge Dale is located in Hillsborough County
- River Rapids
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Rapids
- River Rapids is located in Hillsborough County
- Rivers Edge
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rivers Edge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivers Edge
- Rivers Edge is located in Hillsborough County
- Riverwoods Hammock
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverwoods Hammock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverwoods Hammock
- Riverwoods Hammock is located in Hillsborough County
- Scenic Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scenic Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scenic Heights
- Scenic Heights is located in Hillsborough County
- Shadow Ridge
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shadow Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadow Ridge
- Shadow Ridge is located in Hillsborough County
- Shadow Run
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shadow Run have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadow Run
- Shadow Run is located in Hillsborough County
- Shady Cove
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Cove
- Shady Cove is located in Hillsborough County
- Shady Oaks
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Oaks
- Shady Oaks is located in Hillsborough County
- Leonard Woods
How Far From Shoals to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Shoals to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Shoals and extending to:
- Tampa, which is the Seat of Hillsborough County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Shoals to Tampa, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 215 miles [346 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 819 miles [1,318.1 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 47 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,614 miles [10,644.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,282 miles [11,719.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,182 miles [8,339.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Shoals. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Hillsborough County: www.hillsboroughcounty.org/
The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/
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- Shoals) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shoals. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 27.8603, Longitude: -82.2729 In this case, the coordinates for Shoals have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Shoals 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> | 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. |
| <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 Shoals to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.724 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.092 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.85 degrees. |