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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 Alum, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alum 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 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.
- Open 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:
- Open the 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:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Gonzales County
- Open the 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:
- Open the Waymark.com report for Alum
Communities Also Named Alum ...
We found two communities that are also named Alum.
Within Texas, the name Alum is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Saline County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Alum [Saline County].
- Nevada
- Esmeralda County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nevada community of Alum [Esmeralda County].
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)
- Gray Crossing
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Gray Crossing is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray Crossing
- Jakes Colony
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Jakes Colony is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jakes Colony
- Nixon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Stockdale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sunnyside
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sweet Home
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Sweet Home is located in Guadalupe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Home
- Union
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Unity ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Unity is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity
How Far From Alum 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 Alum to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Alum and extending to:
- Floresville, which is the Seat of Wilson County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<3> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Alum to Floresville, with an average speed<4> 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 five to six 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<5> 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).<6>
- 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).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,816 miles [9,359.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'
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> | 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Alum) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Alum to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.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 |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.209 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.364 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.488 degrees. |
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