Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in South Metro, we use the following websites to find information relevant to South Metro and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for South Metro
- 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 South Metro:
- 30.287740, -81.633149
- 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 South Metro
- 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 Duval County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Duval County
- Since South Metro is near Clay County and also Saint Johns County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Clay County
- eBird sighting report for Saint Johns 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near South Metro ...
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.
- Chaseville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chaseville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaseville
- Chaseville is located in Duval County
- College Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for College Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Park
- College Park is located in Duval County
- David Scurry Grant
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for David Scurry Grant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for David Scurry Grant
- David Scurry Grant is located in Duval County
- Floral Bluff
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Floral Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floral Bluff
- Floral Bluff is located in Duval County
- Goodbys
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Grand Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Park
- Grand Park is located in Duval County
- Hogan
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Holiday Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Hill
- Holiday Hill is located in Duval County
- John H McIntosh Grant
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for John H McIntosh Grant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for John H McIntosh Grant
- John H McIntosh Grant is located in Duval County
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Joseph Summeral Grant
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Joseph Summeral Grant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joseph Summeral Grant
- Joseph Summeral Grant is located in Duval County
- Lake Shore
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Shore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shore
- Lake Shore is located in Duval County
- Panama Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panama Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panama Park
- Panama Park is located in Duval County
- Pearl Court
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pearl Court have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl Court
- Pearl Court is located in Duval County
- Spring Glen
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Glen
- Spring Glen is located in Duval County
- Sunbeam
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Joseph Summeral Grant
How Far From South Metro 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 South Metro to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in South Metro and extending to:
- Jacksonville, which is the Seat of Duval County, lies just to the North Northwest.
- Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 158 miles [254.3 km]<2> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from South Metro to Tallahassee, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 649 miles [1,044.5 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,476 miles [10,422.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,154 miles [11,513.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,046 miles [8,120.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for South Metro. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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- South Metro) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in South Metro. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.2877, Longitude: -81.6331 In this case, the coordinates for South Metro have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 South Metro to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.537 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.212 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.106 degrees. |