Most states you can see in one place?

[empirestate]

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.

[Chris19001]

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...

[SectorZ]

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?

[Chris19001]

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..

[KEVIN_224]

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.

[cpzilliacus]

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?

[US 41]

You can see all 50 states at once if you're on the International Space Station. 

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.

[texaskdog]

Sarah Palin can see a lot of countries from her house

(before I get banned for political slams, I actually like her)

[Rothman]

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.

[usends]

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).

[US 41]

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.

[cpzilliacus]

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).

[US 41]

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.

[froggie]

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, 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.

[hbelkins]

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. 

[Pete from Boston]

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.

[US 41]

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. 

Hey it's okay texaskdog. I actually like her too, I just can't believe she endorsed Trump.

[CtrlAltDel]

You can see all 50 states at once if you're on the International Space Station. 

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: .

[noelbotevera]

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)?

[kkt]

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.

[noelbotevera]

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.

[Rothman]

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.

[Chris19001]

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.

[kkt]

According to http://www.heywhatsthat.com/ Charleston Peak in southern Nevada should be visible.  It's 146 miles away at 11,800 feet.

[Rothman]

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.