# How far did I see? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 17, 2019, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-did-i-see/834132 "2019-05-17T23:06:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-did-i-see/834132/1 "2019-05-17T23:06:10Z")
A few weeks ago I was driving around with someone and we ended up somewhere I had heard of before but never been to-[-an open-air chapel](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fred+W.+Symmes+Chapel/@35.1334356,-82.5747027,171m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8859b7c458ab4f1b:0x2bf179fd15e9c427!8m2!3d35.1337729!4d-82.5753987) built on the edge of a cliff on the top of a mountain in Greenville, SC. There were a few other people visiting at the time and one of them commented that they could probably see a hundred miles from there. It makes me wonder just how far the most distant peak visible actually is. Maybe five miles? Ten? [Photo mine](https://imgur.com/a/aErnkvO), [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jU3H87sYd8) [not](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJULQ29_SYY). ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-did-i-see/834132/2 "2019-05-18T00:17:38Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > A few weeks ago I was driving around with someone and we ended up somewhere I had heard of before but never been to-[-an open-air chapel](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fred+W.+Symmes+Chapel/@35.1334356,-82.5747027,171m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8859b7c458ab4f1b:0x2bf179fd15e9c427!8m2!3d35.1337729!4d-82.5753987) built on the edge of a cliff on the top of a mountain in Greenville, SC. There were a few other people visiting at the time and one of them commented that they could probably see a hundred miles from there. It makes me wonder just how far the most distant peak visible actually is. Maybe five miles? Ten? [Photo mine](https://imgur.com/a/aErnkvO), [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jU3H87sYd8) [not](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJULQ29_SYY). Go to [heywhatsthat.com](http://www.heywhatsthat.com/)- you can entire a location, and a height above the ground, and get a labeled panorama plus a map of what peaks are visible from that point. ---
**Author:** ![busterpickle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@busterpickle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/busterpickle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-did-i-see/834132/3 "2019-05-18T01:02:04Z")
That place is 2907 feet above sea level… which via multiple online Line-of-sight (LOS) calculators is about 60 miles. This is assuming flat terrain, and as it’s in the mountains it’ll be less versus a cliff of that elevation over the ocean. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-did-i-see/834132/4 "2019-05-18T07:28:44Z")
> [@electronbee](#): > > That place is 2907 feet above sea level… which via multiple online Line-of-sight (LOS) calculators is about 60 miles. This is assuming flat terrain, and as it’s in the mountains it’ll be less versus a cliff of that elevation over the ocean. No, if you think about it, in an area with dispersed mountains it will be further, since the tops of distant mountains will be above the theoretical horizon. I’ve seen a 3000ft mountain from sea level 80 miles away, when it was clear. Having said that, in the OP’s picture it looks too hazy to see much more than 30-40 miles. And it’s harder to pick out distant features when you’re looking from high to low than the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-did-i-see/834132/5 "2019-05-18T08:06:16Z")
> [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](#): > > I’ve seen a 3000ft mountain from sea level 80 miles away, when it was clear. Or rather, slightly above sea level. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-did-i-see/834132/6 "2019-05-18T16:31:25Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > A few weeks ago I was driving around with someone and we ended up somewhere I had heard of before but never been to-[-an open-air chapel](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fred+W.+Symmes+Chapel/@35.1334356,-82.5747027,171m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8859b7c458ab4f1b:0x2bf179fd15e9c427!8m2!3d35.1337729!4d-82.5753987) built on the edge of a cliff on the top of a mountain in Greenville, SC. There were a few other people visiting at the time and one of them commented that they could probably see a hundred miles from there. It makes me wonder just how far the most distant peak visible actually is. Maybe five miles? Ten? [Photo mine](https://imgur.com/a/aErnkvO), [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jU3H87sYd8) [not](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJULQ29_SYY). Here in Portland Oregon, Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens are fixtures that are only not visible when it is overcast (which is much of the time:)). Both are roughly 50 miles away from downtown Portland. On a clear day, Mt. Rainer can be seen behind Mt. St. Helens. Mt. Rainer is about 100 miles away. [This picture was taken in the hills above downtown Portland](https://mapio.net/pic/p-97390901/). ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-did-i-see/834132/7 "2019-05-18T19:48:48Z")
The white mountains in the background behind the city are about 100 miles away. They are the Kaikouras in the South Island of New Zealand taken from a mountain bike trail north of Wellington. [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/749OiIH4nBgwYoW20U5pt70cyYRZ57iLPJY-wRKDwlabKTaW3l02wjJtzm6k7JjUNtXpIAYAiTOA_bDqlWJiXHLR6glk7BVoM_fzcoYAIPbZEHC9841qV6dee8zaFpxH45CDps5OWew=w600-h315-p-k "New item by Jonathan Skogstad") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZiazWMHzmgdXcfEd7) ---
**Author:** ![busterpickle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@busterpickle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/busterpickle)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-did-i-see/834132/8 "2019-05-19T04:10:04Z")
> [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](#): > > No, if you think about it, in an area with dispersed mountains it will be further, since the tops of distant mountains will be above the theoretical horizon. I’ve seen a 3000ft mountain from sea level 80 miles away, when it was clear. > > Having said that, in the OP’s picture it looks too hazy to see much more than 30-40 miles. And it’s harder to pick out distant features when you’re looking from high to low than the other way around. Doh! Didn’t think of that… Assuming two 3000’ peaks it’s 154 miles, could possibly pull that off in the winter when humidity is lowest. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-did-i-see/834132/9 "2019-05-19T08:56:46Z")
> [@electronbee](#): > > Doh! Didn’t think of that… Assuming two 3000’ peaks it’s 154 miles, could possibly pull that off in the winter when humidity is lowest. In Britain, the longest theoretical line of sight is 144 miles, between Snowdon (3560ft) in north Wales and Merrick (2766ft) in south Scotland. It’s mostly over water and I don’t think anyone’s ever actually seen or photographed one from the other. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-did-i-see/834132/10 "2019-05-19T09:57:38Z")
Mt. Fuji at 3,770 m theoretically can be seen at from 300 km away. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-did-i-see/834132/11 "2019-05-20T01:19:51Z")
[This website](https://beyondhorizons.eu/) is dedicated to very long-distance photography. It also keeps track of the farthest sights ever captured on camera, with the [current record (photographed from land) being 443 km](https://beyondhorizons.eu/2018/09/02/the-longest-pictures-ever-taken/) or 275 miles (Pyrenees to Alps). So if one went up a mountain, and there were hypothetical mountains in the right places, one would be able to have a radius of view of over 886 km (550 miles). For an idea of scale, that would be around the size of France or the Iberian Peninsula. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-did-i-see/834132/12 "2019-05-20T01:32:35Z")
This is only tangentially related to the OP and the discussion thereon, but I’ve always been a bit fascinated by how atmospheric conditions can allow you to see objects that are not theoretically visible from line-of-sight calculations. It happens reasonably often on [the Michigan side of Lake Michigan with the Chicago skyline](https://www.abc57.com/news/mirage-of-chicago-skyline-seen-from-michigan-shoreline). It’s only 60 miles, but you shouldn’t be able to even see the tips of the antennae from that far away, much less almost the entire building. That’s the view you should get from maybe around 20 miles. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-did-i-see/834132/13 "2019-05-20T02:03:10Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > This is only tangentially related to the OP and the discussion thereon, but I’ve always been a bit fascinated by how atmospheric conditions can allow you to see objects that are not theoretically visible from line-of-sight calculations. It happens reasonably often on [the Michigan side of Lake Michigan with the Chicago skyline](https://www.abc57.com/news/mirage-of-chicago-skyline-seen-from-michigan-shoreline). It’s only 60 miles, but you shouldn’t be able to even see the tips of the antennae from that far away, much less almost the entire building. That’s the view you should get from maybe around 20 miles. Also, the related [Fata Morgana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fata_Morgana_(mirage)) mirage, which gives an optical illusion of ships or islands floating in the air, and which is possibly the origin of the Flying Dutchman myth. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-did-i-see/834132/14 "2019-05-20T02:12:40Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Also, the related [Fata Morgana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fata_Morgana_(mirage)) mirage Not just “related,” but that is exactly the phenomenon with the skyline across Lake Michigan. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-did-i-see/834132/15 "2019-05-20T03:14:54Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Not just “related,” but that is exactly the phenomenon with the skyline across Lake Michigan. The Fata Morgana is a “complex form” of superior mirage, in which the objects appear distorted, and may rapidly change in appearance. It “comprises several inverted (upside down) and erect (right side up) images that are stacked on top of one another.” I think the photo in your link might be a normal superior mirage, since Chicago does not appear distorted. [This photo](https://weather.com/science/weather-explainers/news/fata-morgana-mirage-chicago) reportedly shows Chicago appearing across Lake Michigan as a Fata Morgana mirage. (Also, the “radius of view of over 886 km” in my earlier post should be _diameter_ of view.)