Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Swifton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Swifton and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Swifton
- 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 Swifton:
- 36.867848, -84.904948
- 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 Swifton
- 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 Wayne County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Wayne County
- Since Swifton is near Russell County and also Clinton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Russell County
- eBird sighting report for Clinton 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 Swifton ...
We found three communities that share the name Swifton.
Within Kentucky, the name Swifton is unique.
Beyond Kentucky, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Kansas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Swifton ...
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.
- Alpha
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Betsey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Cooper
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Frisby
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Gapcreek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Indian Hills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- Indian Hills is located in Russell County
- Oil Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oil Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil Valley
- Oil Valley is located in Wayne County
- Short Mountain
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Short Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Mountain
- Short Mountain is located in Wayne County
- Stokes ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Susie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Wait
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Windy
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Swifton 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 Swifton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Swifton and extending to:
- Monticello, which is the Seat of Wayne County, lies just to the Southeast.
- Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies 91 miles [146.5 km]<1> to the north (N). If you could drive a straight line from Swifton to Frankfort, with an average speed<6>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 most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 450 miles [724.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 18 days and walking would take 26 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,315 miles [10,163 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,032 miles [11,316.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,907 miles [7,897.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Swifton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Kentucky: https://kentucky.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Swifton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Swifton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.8678, Longitude: -84.9049 In this case, the coordinates for Swifton 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 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 Swifton 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 Swifton, 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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Swifton to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.659 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.585 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.706 degrees. |