Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alum, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alum and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Alum
- 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 Alum:
- 29.295170, -97.964806
- 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 Alum
- 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 Wilson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Wilson County
- Since Alum is near Gonzales County and also Guadalupe County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Gonzales County
- eBird sighting report for Guadalupe 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 Alum ...
We found two communities that share the name Alum.
Within Texas, the name Alum is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Nevada
Curious and Interesting Names Near Alum ...
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.
- Dewville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewville
- Dewville is located in Gonzales County
- Gray Crossing
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gray Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray Crossing
- Gray Crossing is located in Wilson County
- Jakes Colony
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jakes Colony have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jakes Colony
- Jakes Colony is located in Guadalupe County
- Nixon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixon
- Nixon is located in Gonzales County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,508 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nixon <3>
- Stockdale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockdale
- Stockdale is located in Wilson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,672 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stockdale <3>
- Sunnyside
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
- Sunnyside is located in Wilson County
- Sweet Home
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweet Home have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Home
- Sweet Home is located in Guadalupe County
- Union
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Unity ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Alum 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 Alum to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Alum and extending to:
- Floresville, which is the Seat of Wilson County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<4> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Alum to Floresville, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 68 miles [109.4 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,363 miles [2,193.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 54 days and walking would take 78 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,213 miles [11,608.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,940 miles [12,778.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,816 miles [9,359.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alum. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Alum, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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> | 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- Alum) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alum. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.2952, Longitude: -97.9648 |
| <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 Alum 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 320.209 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.364 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.488 degrees. |