Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Beacon, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Beacon and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Beacon
- 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 Beacon:
- 35.628403, -88.183093
- 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 Beacon
- 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 Decatur County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Decatur County
- Since Beacon is near Henderson County and also Perry County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Henderson County
- eBird sighting report for Perry 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 Beacon ...
We found five communities that share the name Beacon.
Within Tennessee, the name Beacon is unique.
Beyond Tennessee, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Iowa
- Michigan
- New York
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Beacon ...
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.
- Bible Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bible Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bible Hill
- Bible Hill is located in Decatur County
- Five Forks
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
- Five Forks is located in Decatur County
- Hickory Forks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Forks
- Hickory Forks is located in Decatur County
- Hopewell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Oak Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Parsons
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parsons have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
- Parsons is located in Decatur County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,272 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parsons <3>
- Pleasant Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in Henderson County
- Rock Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Shady Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Hill
- Shady Hill is located in Henderson County
- Stubblefields ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stubblefields have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stubblefields
- Stubblefields is located in Henderson County
- Sulphur Springs ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sulphur Springs. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Sulphur Springs is located in Decatur County
- Utah
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
How Far From Beacon 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 Beacon to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Beacon and extending to:
- Decaturville, which is the Seat of Decatur County, lies just to the Southeast.
- Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 86 miles [138.4 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Beacon to Nashville, with an average speed<5>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 5 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 652 miles [1,049.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,506 miles [10,470.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,227 miles [11,630.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,102 miles [8,210.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Beacon. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Decatur County: www.decaturcountytn.org/
The official website for State of Tennessee: https://www.tn.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Beacon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Beacon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.6284, Longitude: -88.1831 In this case, the coordinates for Beacon have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Beacon to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.644 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.696 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.415 degrees. |