Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Columbus, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Columbus and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Columbus
- 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 Columbus:
- 35.226185, -84.622157
- 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 Columbus
- 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 Polk County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Polk County
- Since Columbus is near McMinn County and also Bradley County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for McMinn County
- eBird sighting report for Bradley 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 Columbus ...
We found 33 communities that share the name Columbus.
Within Tennessee, the name Columbus is unique.
Beyond Tennessee, we know of another 33 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 33 communities, 32 are located in the United States and three are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Adams County
- This Columbus is located in Adams County and lies 484 miles [778.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Columbus that is located in Polk County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Columbus.
- Scott County
- This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Illinois community of Columbus [Scott County].
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Cherokee County
- This Columbus is located in Cherokee County and lies 584 miles [939.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Columbus that is located in Polk County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cherokee County community of Columbus.
- Doniphan County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Doniphan County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Doniphan County community of Columbus.
- Kentucky
- Fayette County
- This Columbus is located in Fayette County and lies 194 miles [312.2 km]<1> to the north of the Columbus that is located in Polk County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Columbus.
- Hickman County
- This Columbus is located in Hickman County and lies 271 miles [436.1 km] to the west northwest of the Columbus that is located in Polk County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hickman County community of Columbus.
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- Luna County
- This Columbus is located in Luna County and lies 1,342 miles [2,159.7 km]<1> to the west of the Columbus that is located in Polk County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Luna County community of Columbus.
- Taos County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New Mexico community of Columbus [Taos County].
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Ontario
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Columbus ...
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.
- Carlock
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Cooks Ferry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cooks Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Ferry
- Cooks Ferry is located in Bradley County
- Dentville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Double Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Double Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Springs
- Double Springs is located in McMinn County
- Grief ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Oak Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Old Patty
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Patty
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Yancey ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Columbus 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 Columbus to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Columbus once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Columbus and extending to:
- Benton, which is the Seat of Polk County, lies just to the South Southwest.
- Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 137 miles [220.5 km]<1> to the west northwest (WNW). If you could drive a straight line from Columbus to Nashville, with an average speed<5>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 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 488 miles [785.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 19 days and walking would take 28 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,380 miles [10,267.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,089 miles [11,408.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,966 miles [7,992 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Columbus) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Columbus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.2262, Longitude: -84.6222 In this case, the coordinates for Columbus 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 Columbus 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 Columbus, 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> | 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 Columbus 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 312.447 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.108 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.015 degrees. |