Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in McAlester, we use the following websites to find information relevant to McAlester and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for McAlester
- 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 McAlester:
- 34.933477, -95.77019
- 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 McAlester
- 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 Pittsburg County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Pittsburg County
- Since McAlester is near Latimer County and also Hughes County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Latimer County
- eBird sighting report for Hughes 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 McAlester ...
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.
- Bond
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast) - Brewer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Bug Tussle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bug Tussle
- Bug Tussle is located in Pittsburg County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Bug Tussle
- From McAlester to Bug Tussle
- Carbon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Chambers
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers
- Chambers is located in Pittsburg County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Chambers
- From McAlester to Chambers
- Craig
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast) - Krebs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Krebs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krebs
- Krebs is located in Pittsburg County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,000 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Krebs <2>
- Reams
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Richville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
How Far From McAlester 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 city such as McAlester to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in McAlester and extending to:
- Oklahoma City, which is the State Capital of Oklahoma, lies 104 miles [167.4 km]<3> to the west northwest (WNW). If you could drive a straight line from McAlester to Oklahoma City, 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 4 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,067 miles [1,717.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 42 days and walking would take 61 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,833 miles [10,996.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,570 miles [12,182.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,451 miles [8,772.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for McAlester: www.cityofmcalester.com/
The official website for State of Oklahoma: https://www.ok.gov/
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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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- McAlester) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in McAlester. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.9335, Longitude: -95.7702 |
| <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 McAlester 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 319.50 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.243 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.921 degrees. |