I am quite certain it is impossible to see 7 states from Rock City, GA.
VA, KY, SC are clearly impossible.
http://www.ringbell.co.uk/info/hdist.htm
But what is the maximum number, and where?
It might be as high as 6.
Candidates: Mt. Greylock, MA (MA, CT, RI?, NH, VT?, NY)
Slide Mt., NY (NY, PA, NJ, CT, MA, VT?)
You can see VT from Greylock, but I'm almost positive there's no way you can see as far as RI.
Astronauts/Cosmonauts aboard the ISS could probably see most, if not all, of the lower 48 US states.
From the top of a skyscraper in NYC, you could probably see NY, NJ, CT and PA on a clear day.
These days, the National Park Service is claiming a view of just three states from Pinnacle Overlook in Cumberland Gap National Historic Park: http://www.nps.gov/cuga/planyourvisit/gettingaround.htm (http://www.nps.gov/cuga/planyourvisit/gettingaround.htm).
IIRC, the overlook touted a view "on a clear day" of five states, including West Virginia and North Carolina, back when we visited there on our honeymoon. Since that was over 40 years ago, things may have changed. Perhaps pollution obscures the view now or maybe the park rangers got tired of folks complaining that they couldn't see everything advertised. :biggrin:
Vermont from Greylock is almost a certainty given its proximity to the border. Rhode Island is an impossibility however.
Mount Washington in NH would have New Hampshire and Maine for sure. Vermont possibly?
QuoteMount Washington in NH would have New Hampshire and Maine for sure. Vermont possibly?
Yes. There are places in my town where we can see Mt Washington on a clear day, so the reciprocal is also true.
I don't recall offhand from my Mt. Washington trip, but it might also be possible to see part of Quebec.
Yes, Mount Washington is easily visible on a clear day from many parts of Vermont. I remember reading or seeing something about it being visible from parts of New York as well. At least this REI page says you can see parts of NY from Mt. Washington: http://blog.rei.com/climb/famous-u-s-summits-mount-washington-new-hampshire/
It's been a while since I have been to the summit of Mount Greylock. New York and Vermont are very easy to see. I would not have guessed you can see Connecticut but the Wikipedia article about Greylock says you can.
Any place in Southern Utah where you can get the 4 corners & Nevada? I can recall some spots east of Bryce Canyon where you could see surprisingly far south, but I suspect 5 is a state too much.
On top of Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs you can obviously see Colorado, but on a clear day you can also see New Mexico, Wyoming, Kansas, and....to my surprise, Oklahoma.
Quote from: Jim on December 07, 2015, 03:26:51 PM
Yes, Mount Washington is easily visible on a clear day from many parts of Vermont. I remember reading or seeing something about it being visible from parts of New York as well. At least this REI page says you can see parts of NY from Mt. Washington: http://blog.rei.com/climb/famous-u-s-summits-mount-washington-new-hampshire/
It's been a while since I have been to the summit of Mount Greylock. New York and Vermont are very easy to see. I would not have guessed you can see Connecticut but the Wikipedia article about Greylock says you can.
I find it difficult to believe that you can see any part of New York from Mt. Washington. Maybe on an exceptionally clear day, ditto with seeing Connecticut from Mt. Greylock.
Quote from: The Nature Boy on December 07, 2015, 07:37:16 PM
Quote from: Jim on December 07, 2015, 03:26:51 PM
Yes, Mount Washington is easily visible on a clear day from many parts of Vermont. I remember reading or seeing something about it being visible from parts of New York as well. At least this REI page says you can see parts of NY from Mt. Washington: http://blog.rei.com/climb/famous-u-s-summits-mount-washington-new-hampshire/
It's been a while since I have been to the summit of Mount Greylock. New York and Vermont are very easy to see. I would not have guessed you can see Connecticut but the Wikipedia article about Greylock says you can.
I find it difficult to believe that you can see any part of New York from Mt. Washington. Maybe on an exceptionally clear day, ditto with seeing Connecticut from Mt. Greylock.
I can see Mount Washington in MA from my office in Albany, NY.
On even a semi-cloudy day, from the Delaware Memorial Bridge you can see DE, NJ & PA, including the Philadelphia Skyline about 25 miles away. As you can see that far north, it stands to reason you should be able to see Maryland which is about 15 miles away, except there's no landmarks that I know of visible from the bridge.
The weather observers at the Mount Washington Observatory tweeted me this afternoon and confirmed that they can indeed see 5 states, including MA and NY, from the top, as well as Quebec and the Atlantic Ocean.
Quote from: Beeper1 on December 05, 2015, 04:40:00 PM
You can see VT from Greylock, but I'm almost positive there's no way you can see as far as RI.
From Greylock you can see VT, NY, NH, and CT all fairly easily. NH you have a clear view of Mt. Monadnock, NY and VT are close to see many things, and you can see the cluster of hills in NW CT. RI, no way, there is just too much tall stuff between Greylock and the hills in RI. Jerimoth Hill is barely 800' ASL, everything in central MA is above that in between the two.
On the top of the lift hill of Top Thrill Dragster in Cedar Point, you can probably see Pennsylvania, Canada, Michigan, and that's it. Two states and a country.
At Crater Lake in Oregon, you can see Mt. Shasta in California, well over 100 miles to the south. And while I believe it might be possible to see Mt. Hood, I don't think Mt. Rainier is visible.
Quote from: noelbotevera on December 09, 2015, 09:35:29 PM
On the top of the lift hill of Top Thrill Dragster in Cedar Point, you can probably see Pennsylvania, Canada, Michigan, and that's it. Two states and a country.
PA is 100 miles away and MI is just over 40, so I seriously doubt you could see either from a height of only 420 feet.
You can see Canada from the top of TTD though, since its southernmost point of land (Middle Island) is only 14 miles away.
So it's most like just one state (OH) and one Province (ON)
Whoever wrote in an article in Wikipedia about Bear Mountain, NY saying that five states can be seen from the Perkins Tower on the summit.
I am assuming its NY, NJ, CT, and MA for sure, but what would the fifth, assuming that Wiki was accurate when I saw the article?
From Mt. Rainier you can see Mt. Hood easily on any reasonably clear day, and on a particularly good day you can see Mt. Robbie Reid in B.C.
Quote from: Buck87 on December 10, 2015, 12:30:20 AM
Quote from: noelbotevera on December 09, 2015, 09:35:29 PM
On the top of the lift hill of Top Thrill Dragster in Cedar Point, you can probably see Pennsylvania, Canada, Michigan, and that's it. Two states and a country.
PA is 100 miles away and MI is just over 40, so I seriously doubt you could see either from a height of only 420 feet.
Yeah, PA's a stretch from Sandusky.
Quote from: SectorZ on December 09, 2015, 05:19:17 PM
Quote from: Beeper1 on December 05, 2015, 04:40:00 PM
You can see VT from Greylock, but I'm almost positive there's no way you can see as far as RI.
From Greylock you can see VT, NY, NH, and CT all fairly easily. NH you have a clear view of Mt. Monadnock, NY and VT are close to see many things, and you can see the cluster of hills in NW CT. RI, no way, there is just too much tall stuff between Greylock and the hills in RI. Jerimoth Hill is barely 800' ASL, everything in central MA is above that in between the two.
You can see Mount Monadnock from Mount Holyoke (Skinner Mt.) in MA, even on a relatively hazy day.
OK, it looks like the leaders are:
Pikes Peak - CO, NM, WY, KS, OK
Mt. Washington - NH, VT, MA, NY, ME
Bear Mt. - NY, NJ, CT, MA, one more?
oops....
Mt. Greylock - MA, VT, NY, CT, NH
To be checked:
Clingman's Dome
Southern Utah
Quote from: woodpusher on January 17, 2016, 03:37:47 PM
Bear Mt. - NY, NJ, CT, MA, one more?
It could only possibly be Pennsylvania, but I find this type of claim dubious.
Quote from: empirestate on January 17, 2016, 06:58:47 PM
Quote from: woodpusher on January 17, 2016, 03:37:47 PM
Bear Mt. - NY, NJ, CT, MA, one more?
It could only possibly be Pennsylvania, but I find this type of claim dubious.
Seeing Massachusetts from there seems impossible. I'd say the missing state is Pennsylvania, as Pennsylvania is only 47 miles away, maybe more.
EDIT: Digged up a forum that has a topic on the longest sightlines (http://www.summitpost.org/phpBB3/longest-lines-of-sight-photographed-t44409.html).
Supposedly, on the clearest day, one can see a radius of up to 100 miles from the observation tower at Clingman's Dome on the TN-NC border in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. From there, I presume that you could also see SC, GA, VA and maybe KY.
According to Wikipedia, the farthest you could possibly see on Earth has to be less than 418 miles, because to see that far would require standing on top of Mount Everest and viewing the summit of another Mount Everest 418 miles away. (Don't know if that takes into account the height of the person doing the observing, which adds about 3 miles at sea level.) Since there aren't two Mounts Everest, all sightlines on Earth must be less than that.
That seems odd to me. So at 419 miles, a person standing 5.5 miles above sea level could not see another mountain 5.5 miles above sea level if there were no obstructions? I would assume a telescope and crystal clear skies would be a given, but that distance seems quite short. Oh, wiki...
Quote from: Chris19001 on January 18, 2016, 11:09:37 AM
That seems odd to me. So at 419 miles, a person standing 5.5 miles above sea level could not see another mountain 5.5 miles above sea level if there were no obstructions? I would assume a telescope and crystal clear skies would be a given, but that distance seems quite short. Oh, wiki...
Have to factor the curvature of the Earth. It's not that you couldn't see it with a telescope or something, it's that it's below the horizon.
Also, what happened the Greylock on this list?
Quote from: SectorZ on January 18, 2016, 11:11:01 AM
Have to factor the curvature of the Earth. It's not that you couldn't see it with a telescope or something, it's that it's below the horizon.
I get that, its just that the distance seems too short for what I know about the earth's shape and size. (although I am far too lazy to look it up elsewhere).
Since I don't have a better answer and I'm going on about it, I'll quiet down..
I wonder if the hills in back were anything here? This was looking west from the Western Promenade in Portland, ME, back on September 15, 2015. I'm sure one can see Mount Washington if they're high enough up.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F6r3xMpT.jpg&hash=74ea24f814f611095f8625263fd0da2052c7a7fc)
Quote from: The Nature Boy on December 07, 2015, 07:37:16 PM
Quote from: Jim on December 07, 2015, 03:26:51 PM
Yes, Mount Washington is easily visible on a clear day from many parts of Vermont. I remember reading or seeing something about it being visible from parts of New York as well. At least this REI page says you can see parts of NY from Mt. Washington: http://blog.rei.com/climb/famous-u-s-summits-mount-washington-new-hampshire/
It's been a while since I have been to the summit of Mount Greylock. New York and Vermont are very easy to see. I would not have guessed you can see Connecticut but the Wikipedia article about Greylock says you can.
I find it difficult to believe that you can see any part of New York from Mt. Washington. Maybe on an exceptionally clear day, ditto with seeing Connecticut from Mt. Greylock.
Could it be that one can see the peak of Mount Marcy in New York from Mount Washington?
You can see all 50 states at once if you're on the International Space Station. :bigass:
I also know for a fact you can see / stand in 4 states at once at the 4 corners. I imagine that somewhere in New England is where you could see the most at once since the states are so small.
Sarah Palin can see a lot of countries from her house :)
(before I get banned for political slams, I actually like her)
Quote from: cpzilliacus on January 26, 2016, 01:17:36 PM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on December 07, 2015, 07:37:16 PM
Quote from: Jim on December 07, 2015, 03:26:51 PM
Yes, Mount Washington is easily visible on a clear day from many parts of Vermont. I remember reading or seeing something about it being visible from parts of New York as well. At least this REI page says you can see parts of NY from Mt. Washington: http://blog.rei.com/climb/famous-u-s-summits-mount-washington-new-hampshire/
It's been a while since I have been to the summit of Mount Greylock. New York and Vermont are very easy to see. I would not have guessed you can see Connecticut but the Wikipedia article about Greylock says you can.
I find it difficult to believe that you can see any part of New York from Mt. Washington. Maybe on an exceptionally clear day, ditto with seeing Connecticut from Mt. Greylock.
Could it be that one can see the peak of Mount Marcy in New York from Mount Washington?
I really doubt it.
Quote from: sandwalk on December 07, 2015, 07:32:02 PM
On top of Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs you can obviously see Colorado, but on a clear day you can also see New Mexico, Wyoming, Kansas, and....to my surprise, Oklahoma.
Does this information come from a reliable source? I'd be really surprised if you could see anything in KS or OK. Even if there were tall landforms in those states, I'd still be skeptical. But there's not even that: Mt. Sunflower and Black Mesa are nothing more than nearly-imperceptible rises on Colorado ridges that happen to cross the state line, and those ridges decrease in elevation towards the east (i.e. along the sightline of someone standing on the summit of Pikes).
Quote from: texaskdog on January 26, 2016, 01:43:19 PM
Sarah Palin can see a lot of countries from her house :)
(before I get banned for political slams, I actually like her)
You actually can see Russia from a couple of different points in Alaska on clear days. The Diomede Islands is the obvious place. In the winter it is actually possible to walk from Little Diomede (Alaska) to Big Diomede (Russia) due to the Bering Strait freezing over. However travel between islands is forbidden and illegal.
Quote from: US 41 on January 26, 2016, 03:52:53 PM
Quote from: texaskdog on January 26, 2016, 01:43:19 PM
Sarah Palin can see a lot of countries from her house :)
(before I get banned for political slams, I actually like her)
You actually can see Russia from a couple of different points in Alaska on clear days. The Diomede Islands is the obvious place. In the winter it is actually possible to walk from Little Diomede (Alaska) to Big Diomede (Russia) due to the Bering Strait freezing over. However travel between islands is forbidden and illegal.
Alaska State Troopers (on National Geographic Channel) did a segment on Little Diomede ["the most remote village in the United States"] (with two troopers visiting, wintertime, so their plane landed on an ice runway on the Bering Sea), and there was a specific comment made by one of the troopers that crossing is definitely not welcome by the Russians. It was not stated if the U.S. (presumably in the form of the U.S. Coast Guard or maybe the U.S. Border Patrol?) watches for illegal crossers from Big Diomede (Siberia, Russia) to Little Diomede (Alaska).
Quote from: cpzilliacus on January 26, 2016, 04:05:56 PM
Quote from: US 41 on January 26, 2016, 03:52:53 PM
Quote from: texaskdog on January 26, 2016, 01:43:19 PM
Sarah Palin can see a lot of countries from her house :)
(before I get banned for political slams, I actually like her)
You actually can see Russia from a couple of different points in Alaska on clear days. The Diomede Islands is the obvious place. In the winter it is actually possible to walk from Little Diomede (Alaska) to Big Diomede (Russia) due to the Bering Strait freezing over. However travel between islands is forbidden and illegal.
Alaska State Troopers (on National Geographic Channel) did a segment on Little Diomede ["the most remote village in the United States"] (with two troopers visiting, wintertime, so their plane landed on an ice runway on the Bering Sea), and there was a specific comment made by one of the troopers that crossing is definitely not welcome by the Russians. It was not stated if the U.S. (presumably in the form of the U.S. Coast Guard or maybe the U.S. Border Patrol?) watches for illegal crossers from Big Diomede (Siberia, Russia) to Little Diomede (Alaska).
Based on what I've read Soviet Russia moved all the indigenous people from Big Diomede to mainland Russia. Now all that is on Big Diomede is a Russian military base, so I hope the US is at least keeping a watchful eye on that.
Quote from: Rothman on January 26, 2016, 01:44:50 PM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on January 26, 2016, 01:17:36 PM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on December 07, 2015, 07:37:16 PM
Quote from: Jim on December 07, 2015, 03:26:51 PM
Yes, Mount Washington is easily visible on a clear day from many parts of Vermont. I remember reading or seeing something about it being visible from parts of New York as well. At least this REI page says you can see parts of NY from Mt. Washington: http://blog.rei.com/climb/famous-u-s-summits-mount-washington-new-hampshire/
It's been a while since I have been to the summit of Mount Greylock. New York and Vermont are very easy to see. I would not have guessed you can see Connecticut but the Wikipedia article about Greylock says you can.
I find it difficult to believe that you can see any part of New York from Mt. Washington. Maybe on an exceptionally clear day, ditto with seeing Connecticut from Mt. Greylock.
Could it be that one can see the peak of Mount Marcy in New York from Mount Washington?
I really doubt it.
For those who missed my earlier post (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=16981.msg2111513#msg2111513), the folks at the Mount Washington Observatory confirmed that they can indeed see New York when conditions allow. They did not specify Mount Marcy, but somewhere in the state is visible to them.
Quote from: texaskdog on January 26, 2016, 01:43:19 PM
Sarah Palin can see a lot of countries from her house :)
(before I get banned for political slams, I actually like her)
Around here, you're more likely to be praised for slamming her and banned for liking her. :bigass:
From Mont Mégantic in Québec, one can see Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. You can also see Québec, of course, but it is not a state.
Quote from: hbelkins on January 26, 2016, 08:36:13 PM
Quote from: texaskdog on January 26, 2016, 01:43:19 PM
Sarah Palin can see a lot of countries from her house :)
(before I get banned for political slams, I actually like her)
Around here, you're more likely to be praised for slamming her and banned for liking her. :bigass:
Hey it's okay texaskdog. I actually like her too, I just can't believe she endorsed Trump. :spin:
Quote from: US 41 on January 26, 2016, 01:32:04 PM
You can see all 50 states at once if you're on the International Space Station. :bigass:
Actually, you can't. The ISS isn't really all that high. The famous blue marble picture of the earth was taken from about 28,000 miles away. The ISS is only at about 250. For an interesting video that incidentally shows what I mean, see: https://vimeo.com/45878034.
What about Mount Whitney? Can't you see as far as Utah and New Mexico? Maybe even the Four Corners? Isn't that another five states (CO, NM, AZ, UT, NV)?
Quote from: noelbotevera on January 26, 2016, 09:15:00 PM
What about Mount Whitney? Can't you see as far as Utah and New Mexico? Maybe even the Four Corners? Isn't that another five states (CO, NM, AZ, UT, NV)?
I don't think so. Nevada, yes, but there's a series of other high mountain ranges in eastern California and Nevada that I think along with the curvature of the earth prevent one from seeing the mountains in Utah and Arizona. N.M. and Colorado are way far away. At least that's what I remember.
Quote from: kkt on January 27, 2016, 01:14:33 AM
Quote from: noelbotevera on January 26, 2016, 09:15:00 PM
What about Mount Whitney? Can't you see as far as Utah and New Mexico? Maybe even the Four Corners? Isn't that another five states (CO, NM, AZ, UT, NV)?
I don't think so. Nevada, yes, but there's a series of other high mountain ranges in eastern California and Nevada that I think along with the curvature of the earth prevent one from seeing the mountains in Utah and Arizona. N.M. and Colorado are way far away. At least that's what I remember.
Yup, Four Corners is impossible, as the crow flies, it's 500 miles away.
Quote from: noelbotevera on January 26, 2016, 09:15:00 PM
What about Mount Whitney? Can't you see as far as Utah and New Mexico? Maybe even the Four Corners? Isn't that another five states (CO, NM, AZ, UT, NV)?
Heck no. I've been to the summit and all sorts of terrain features get in the way. I'd have to check my photos to see if Nevada was even visible from up there.
Quote from: Rothman on January 27, 2016, 07:53:31 AM
Heck no. I've been to the summit and all sorts of terrain features get in the way. I'd have to check my photos to see if Nevada was even visible from up there.
Nevada is a "probably", as the Death Valley basin has a few large ranges between it and the Pacific Crest. But Nevada also has a few large ranges of it's own just over the border around Beatty. I would suspect you may be able to see a bit of NV if you knew where to look. Beyond that, I'd doubt Arizona or Utah would be visible. There's just too many large ranges in CA to the east and nothing high enough on the western parts of those states. Regardless, its a beautiful area I've vacationed in many times.
According to http://www.heywhatsthat.com/ Charleston Peak in southern Nevada should be visible. It's 146 miles away at 11,800 feet.
Quote from: kkt on January 27, 2016, 08:04:56 PM
According to http://www.heywhatsthat.com/ Charleston Peak in southern Nevada should be visible. It's 146 miles away at 11,800 feet.
Looking at the profile they provide, it seems to be only true on paper. Those peaks would get lost compared to the closer ridges to the east -- even those on the other side of Owens Valley -- on a typical day to a typical eye.
So, theoretically possible, but not probable.
Quote from: vegas1962 on January 17, 2016, 07:32:05 PM
Supposedly, on the clearest day, one can see a radius of up to 100 miles from the observation tower at Clingman's Dome on the TN-NC border in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. From there, I presume that you could also see SC, GA, VA and maybe KY.
North of Clingman's Dome, the view from Mount Mitchell (highest point in North America east of the Mississippi River and south of the Canadian Arctic) off the Blue Ridge Parkway is similarly impressive on a clear day.
About the farthest you can see from Mt. Whitney is 190 miles away... The peak of San Gorgonio Mountain is visible.
Quote from: Quillz on January 29, 2016, 12:14:24 PM
About the farthest you can see from Mt. Whitney is 190 miles away... The peak of San Gorgonio Mountain is visible.
Isn't San Gorgonio in southern California?
Quote from: Rothman on January 29, 2016, 01:12:33 PM
Quote from: Quillz on January 29, 2016, 12:14:24 PM
About the farthest you can see from Mt. Whitney is 190 miles away... The peak of San Gorgonio Mountain is visible.
Isn't San Gorgonio in southern California?
Yes, implying that you can't see all that many states from Whitney... Probably Nevada, and that's it.
Here's the view I had from the summit, looking east (in 2012).
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1683/24404334750_75a31bdc23_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/DbwAuf)
Owens Valley just dominates the view.
From the New Mexico State Welcome Center & Rest Area along Interstate 10 westbound in Anthony you could see into Texas & the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
Vice Versa at Night. You could see into El Paso, TX & Anthony (TX,NM) from Samalyuca, Chihuahua. That's where the Ciudad Juarez-El Paso bypass toll road connects with Mexico Federal Highway 45. Of course, its about 40 miles away.
I don't think it counts though. :hmmm:
I wonder if you could see into Sonora, Baja California, & California from the mountains of Yuma, AZ along Interstate 8. I passed through there a few years ago, but when the sun was setting.
Actually, I did like driving I-10 eastbound at night from El Paso at night and looking south at the lights along the border in Mexico.
Quote from: Rothman on January 29, 2016, 10:30:04 PM
Here's the view I had from the summit, looking east (in 2012).
Owens Valley just dominates the view.
I'm looking at the bearing toward Lone Pine on the valley floor and its airport. It looks like due east is near the right edge of that picture, so the bearing to Charleston Peak would be off the picture at little more to the right at bearing 98 degrees. I'm seeing a couple of ridges in the distance past the first one and it's a hazy day, like you usually get there with how rare rains are. It seems quite possible Charleston Peak would be visible if you caught it at the right time when it was clear.
Quote from: Rothman on January 31, 2016, 12:23:31 AM
Actually, I did like driving I-10 eastbound at night from El Paso at night and looking south at the lights along the border in Mexico.
I have to admit that the view of Juarez from I-10 eastbound is very impressive. It's kind of weird seeing all those lights and knowing that it is a different country over there.
The view of Las Cruces at night on I-10 eastbound is also equally as impressive.
I would have stayed the night in Deming, NM and drove MEX 2 from Palomas to Ft Hancock if I had known that MEX 2 was still in the "Free Zone". I didn't have a computer with me so I was unable to look up where the garitas were and where I could purchase Mexican insurance. Turns out that even Janos is in the free zone and that the garita is south of there on MEX 10. I wish I had known that in November.
Quote from: usends on January 26, 2016, 02:53:05 PM
Quote from: sandwalk on December 07, 2015, 07:32:02 PM
On top of Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs you can obviously see Colorado, but on a clear day you can also see New Mexico, Wyoming, Kansas, and....to my surprise, Oklahoma.
Does this information come from a reliable source? I'd be really surprised if you could see anything in KS or OK. Even if there were tall landforms in those states, I'd still be skeptical. But there's not even that: Mt. Sunflower and Black Mesa are nothing more than nearly-imperceptible rises on Colorado ridges that happen to cross the state line, and those ridges decrease in elevation towards the east (i.e. along the sightline of someone standing on the summit of Pikes).
OTOH, could you see 5 states from Black Mesa in OK? It is my understanding that Cimmaron County, OK is the only county in the USA that touches 5 states (counting it's own). So that would be OK, NM, TX, KS and CO. Honestly, I don't know because I've only flown over that area, but it seems plausible on a clear day.
Doesn't look good. New Mexico and Colorado, yes. But Black Mesa is about 4900 feet. Towards Texas the view would be blocked by the 4700 foot ridges to the south. The view towards Kansas also is block by surrounding ridges. Needs more prominence.
Can't believe no one has mentioned the Sears Tower (Willis Tower, yeah yeah) in this thread. From the top you can see clear across Lake Michigan to the Michigan and Indiana shorelines...and I think you can see points in Wisconsin if you look north, given it's about the same distance away as Michigan is? Doesn't contend with the mountainous points mentioned earlier, but maybe there's something to be said for "most states visible due to manmade structures?" :hmmm:
Quote from: paulthemapguy on February 18, 2016, 04:49:29 PM
Can't believe no one has mentioned the Sears Tower (Willis Tower, yeah yeah) in this thread. From the top you can see clear across Lake Michigan to the Michigan and Indiana shorelines...and I think you can see points in Wisconsin if you look north, given it's about the same distance away as Michigan is? Doesn't contend with the mountainous points mentioned earlier, but maybe there's something to be said for "most states visible due to manmade structures?" :hmmm:
Apollo 8 FTW
Quote from: paulthemapguy"most states visible due to manmade structures?"
The GOES West weather satellite basically sees all of the US and its possessions. Every day. Every 15 minutes.
Or if you're looking for manned structures, there's also the ISS.
And in this reply, I shall provide you with the "God damnit" you've all been waiting for.
God damnit.
Quote from: paulthemapguy on February 18, 2016, 10:39:09 PM
And in this reply, I shall provide you with the "God damnit" you've all been waiting for.
God damnit.
*ahem* it's dammit (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/damnit), dammit ;)
Is any part of Pennsylvania visible from the Empire State Building's observation deck? I'm certain that you can see Connecticut with little trouble.
Quote from: KEVIN_224 on February 19, 2016, 09:30:34 PM
Is any part of Pennsylvania visible from the Empire State Building's observation deck? I'm certain that you can see Connecticut with little trouble.
Supposedly yes, and likewise the taller 1 World Trade Center allows you to see PA also. But that would be on very clear, smog-free days, not many of which occur in North Jersey.
I guess to validate this, someone standing in PA should be able to see the top of the World Trade Center.
Quote from: KEVIN_224 on February 19, 2016, 09:30:34 PM
Is any part of Pennsylvania visible from the Empire State Building's observation deck? I'm certain that you can see Connecticut with little trouble.
On the day that I was there, I could barely see New Jersey :)
From Dan's Rock (2,898 ft) in Maryland, you can see parts of MD, PA, WV, and VA.
http://www.summitpost.org/dan-s-rock-on-dan-s-mountain/153785 (http://www.summitpost.org/dan-s-rock-on-dan-s-mountain/153785)
Quote from: jmd41280 on February 22, 2016, 10:06:15 PM
From Dan's Rock (2,898 ft) in Maryland, you can see parts of MD, PA, WV, and VA.
http://www.summitpost.org/dan-s-rock-on-dan-s-mountain/153785 (http://www.summitpost.org/dan-s-rock-on-dan-s-mountain/153785)
There's got to be multiple places in MD's panhandle where this is possible.
Theoretically, yes. But a lot of those places are also forested. For example, Maryland's highest point (Backbone Mtn) is scarcely 200yds from West Virginia, yet your views to the north and west are blocked by trees.
The World's Wonder View Tower is located on I-70 at Genoa, CO, a little ways east of Limon. It's near the edge of the High Plains before they drop off into the Denver Basin, so it's a high point along I-70 east of Denver. It's about 5400 feet elevation at this point, higher than downtown Denver, which is more than 100 miles west. The operators of this attraction, which was built in the 1920s, claim that on a good day you can see six states. I think these would be Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, New Mexico, and South Dakota. I haven't read anything to challenge this claim one way or the other; South Dakota seems a bit of a stretch, and there isn't much in Kansas east of there sticking up that would make it visible over the horizon.
Quote from: The High Plains Traveler on February 23, 2016, 01:23:33 PM
The operators of this attraction, which was built in the 1920s, claim that on a good day you can see six states.
I loved the Tower. It was a quinessential old-time kitschy tourist attraction, and definitely worth at least one visit. As a roadgeek, I liked how you could get a good view of the original alignment of US 40-N (https://www.flickr.com/photos/usends/4743818848/in/album-72157624379105750/) (US 24's predecessor). I also liked this old photo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/usends/4743182227/in/album-72157624379105750/) they had posted in the staircase.
Jerry Chubbuck, the man who had owned it since the '60s, was a great guy and a real character who played fast and loose with the facts for the sake of entertainment. Unfortunately he died a few years back, and my understanding is that the Tower has been closed ever since, with most of the contents auctioned off.
I have some of their old promotional material, where they said "...always gaudy and gimmicky, on purpose!" That's worth keeping in mind when evaluating their claims.
In addition to the six states thing, they made some other dubious statements. For example, "you can see the Grand Tetons, 500 miles distant, proved by Ripley!" Yeah, right. Notice they didn't technically infringe upon the term "Ripley's Believe It Or Not"... so who exactly was this "Ripley" they referenced? (wink-wink) They also said "...the Geological Survey reportedly confirmed..." Is it significant that they didn't specify the
U.S. Geological Survey"?
Quote from: Quillz on January 29, 2016, 07:26:50 PM
Quote from: Rothman on January 29, 2016, 01:12:33 PM
Quote from: Quillz on January 29, 2016, 12:14:24 PM
About the farthest you can see from Mt. Whitney is 190 miles away... The peak of San Gorgonio Mountain is visible.
Isn't San Gorgonio in southern California?
Yes, implying that you can't see all that many states from Whitney... Probably Nevada, and that's it.
Not seeing any other states, except maybe Nevada? Sounds like most people from California :-D :bigass: :spin:
Speaking of towers, there's a tower on the Mohawk Trail (MA 2) just west of Greenfield that claims a "4 State Long View." I wouldn't be surprised in the thing is closed to the public now, but I think it's still there:
https://goo.gl/maps/CrhhfL6Crs22
Always thought it was kind of an odd place for it, since the hill still rises on the other side of the road from it (i.e., how much can you really see over that rise?).
There's another one up on the summit east of North Adams that probably at one time had a much longer view, but the trees have grown up around it a bit:
https://goo.gl/maps/iSFHccAaX9k
Don't know why, but that one seems less kitschy to me than the long view one.
That Long View tower had a camper/trailer dealer at it for a while, with other locations in the region with pictures of that tower on their signa. It has looked somewhere between unsafe and closed the last few times I was there.
Along the Lincoln Hwy (US 30) outside Schellsburg, PA, there was a hotel on Allegheny Mountain known as the Grandview Point Hotel, or the Ship of the Alleghenies. It was advertised that you could "See 3 States and 7 Counties" (PA, MD, WV) from it. It eventually fell into disrepair, and it burned down in 2001.
http://roadsidephotos.sabr.org/LH/grandview.htm (http://roadsidephotos.sabr.org/LH/grandview.htm)
Here are some photos I took from the site in 2010...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jmd41280/albums/72157625021606136 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jmd41280/albums/72157625021606136)
The place I've been the closest to see a state is Cape Finisterre (almost the Westernmost point in Spain, actually nearby Cape Touriñán is a bit further West), and still I wasn't able to see any state.
Anyway, I've found they have stretched the meaning of 'far, far away' to the extreme (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GN-z11) :sombrero:.
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on March 09, 2016, 03:19:38 PM
The place I've been the closest to see a state is Cape Finisterre (almost the Westernmost point in Spain, actually nearby Cape Touriñán is a bit further West), and still I wasn't able to see any state.
Anyway, I've found they have stretched the meaning of 'far, far away' to the extreme (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GN-z11) :sombrero:.
That's not far far away if Voyager 1 hasn't made it there yet. Until it goes through the Oort Cloud.