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Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Alton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alton and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Alton:
    • 41.437809, -71.716794
    • 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 Alton
  • 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 Alton ...

We found 35 communities that share the name Alton.

Within Rhode Island, the name Alton is unique.

Beyond Rhode Island, we know of another 35 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 35 communities, 33 are located in the United States and four are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Jefferson County
      • This Alton is located in Jefferson County and lies 978 miles [1,573.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Alton.
    • Arkansas
      • Hempstead County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Alton [Hempstead County].
    • California
      • Humboldt County
      • This Alton is located in Humboldt County and lies 2,690 miles [4,329.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Humboldt County community of Alton.
    • Florida
      • Lafayette County
      • This Alton is located in Lafayette County and lies 1,011 miles [1,627 km]<1> to the southwest of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lafayette County community of Alton.
    • Georgia
      • Milton County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Alton [Milton County].
      • Tattnall County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Alton [Tattnall County].
    • Idaho
      • Bear Lake County
      • This Alton is located in Bear Lake County and lies 2,011 miles [3,236.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bear Lake County community of Alton.
    • Illinois
      • Madison County
      • This Alton is located in Madison County and lies 987 miles [1,588.4 km]<1> to the west of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of Alton.
    • Indiana
      • Crawford County
      • This Alton is located in Crawford County and lies 811 miles [1,305.2 km]<1> to the west of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Crawford County community of Alton.
    • Iowa
      • Sioux County
      • This Alton is located in Sioux County and lies 1,242 miles [1,998.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sioux County community of Alton.
    • Kansas
      • Lyon County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Alton [Lyon County].
      • Osborne County
      • This Alton is located in Osborne County and lies 1,431 miles [2,303 km]<1> to the west of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Osborne County community of Alton.
      • Sumner County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Alton [Sumner County].
    • Kentucky
      • Anderson County
      • This Alton is located in Anderson County and lies 737 miles [1,186.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anderson County community of Alton.
    • Louisiana
      • Concordia Parish
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Louisiana community of Alton [Concordia Parish].
      • Saint Tammany Parish
      • This Alton is located in Saint Tammany Parish and lies 1,263 miles [2,032.6 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Tammany Parish community of Alton.
    • Maine
      • Penobscot County
      • This Alton is located in Penobscot County and lies 290 miles [466.7 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Penobscot County community of Alton.
    • Michigan
      • Delta County
      • This Alton is located in Delta County and lies 815 miles [1,311.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Delta County community of Alton.
      • Kent County
      • This Alton is located in Kent County and lies 704 miles [1,133 km] to the west northwest of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kent County community of Alton.
    • Minnesota
      • Faribault County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Minnesota community of Alton [Faribault County].
    • Missouri
      • Oregon County
      • This Alton is located in Oregon County and lies 1,102 miles [1,773.5 km]<1> to the west of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oregon County community of Alton.
    • Montana
      • Glacier County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Glacier County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Glacier County community of Alton.
    • New Hampshire
      • Belknap County
      • This Alton is located in Belknap County and lies 141 miles [226.9 km]<1> to the north of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Belknap County community of Alton.
    • New York
      • Wayne County
      • This Alton is located in Wayne County and lies 295 miles [474.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Alton.
    • North Carolina
      • Union County
      • This Alton is located in Union County and lies 658 miles [1,058.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Union County community of Alton.
    • North Dakota
      • Traill County
      • This Alton is located in Traill County and lies 1,307 miles [2,103.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Traill County community of Alton.
    • Nova Scotia
      • This Alton lies 495 miles [796.6 km]<1> to the northeast of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
    • Ohio
      • Franklin County
      • This Alton is located in Franklin County and lies 608 miles [978.5 km]<1> to the west of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Alton.
    • Ontario
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ontario community of Alton.
    • Pennsylvania
      • McKean County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Alton [McKean County].
    • Texas
      • Denton County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Denton County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Denton County community of Alton.
      • Hidalgo County
      • This Alton is located in Hidalgo County and lies 1,836 miles [2,954.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hidalgo County community of Alton.
    • Utah
      • Kane County
      • This Alton is located in Kane County and lies 2,171 miles [3,493.9 km]<1> to the west of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kane County community of Alton.
    • Virginia
      • Halifax County
      • This Alton is located in Halifax County and lies 515 miles [828.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Halifax County community of Alton.
    • West Virginia
      • Upshur County
      • This Alton is located in Upshur County and lies 483 miles [777.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Alton that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Upshur County community of Alton.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Alton ...

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.

  • Barberville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barberville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barberville
    • Barberville is located in Washington County
  • Centerville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
    • Centerville is located in Washington County
  • Green Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
    • Green Hill is located in Washington County
  • Hope Valley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Valley
    • Hope Valley is located in Washington County
  • Locustville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locustville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locustville
    • Locustville is located in Washington County
  • Moscow
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
    • Moscow is located in Washington County
  • Pawcatuck
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pawcatuck have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawcatuck
    • Pawcatuck is located in New London County (CT)
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pawcatuck <5>
  • Rockville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
    • Rockville is located in Washington County
  • Shady Harbor
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Harbor have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Harbor
    • Shady Harbor is located in Washington County
  • Shelter Harbor
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelter Harbor have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelter Harbor
    • Shelter Harbor is located in Washington County
  • Stillmanville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stillmanville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillmanville
    • Stillmanville is located in Washington County
  • Wood River Junction
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wood River Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood River Junction
    • Wood River Junction is located in Washington County
  • Wyoming
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
    • Wyoming is located in Washington County

How Far From Alton 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 Alton to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Alton and extending to:

  • Wakefield, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Alton to Wakefield, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Providence, which is the State Capital of Rhode Island, lies 30 miles [48.3 km] to the north northeast (NNE). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 330 miles [531.1 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,567 miles [8,959.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,272 miles [10,093.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,149 miles [6,677.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<10>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Rhode Island: https://www.ri.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 from Point A (ie- Alton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4378, Longitude: -71.7168    
<2>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 Alton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Alton 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.
<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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Alton 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 304.499 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.006 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.326 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024