Can you see Vancouver BC from the top of Rainier?

I don't think you can necessarily stop with Pythagoras and call it done. Under certain atmospheric conditions you could potentially see a lot farther than you ought to be able to.

Darn! I just found an error in my formula... it should be =SQRT((((14410/5280)+3950)^2)-15602500) <br><br>14,410 feet representing the height of the target.<br><br>That means that would mean Mt. Rainier would dissappear below the horizon at 147 miles away.<br><br>.... according to Pythagoras...<br>

You could reverse your question and ask "can you see Rainier from Vancouver BC? Its like that old saying, "If you can see him, he can see you". From Yakima I can see Rainier and Adams, but much beyond Yakima Rainier disappears... (guess its the 147 mile thing). Need a clear-day panoramic photo from the top of Rainier, that would be sweet!

Can you see Seattle from St Helens?<br><br>I swear I saw St Helens from I-5 just south of downtown once, on a really clear day.

<br><br>Using Sky's equations, I calculate the "view" for St Helens to be about 112 miles. Removing 15% for atmospheric refraction, gives 95 miles.<br><br>From somewhere near the south end of Seattle, I calculated it is about 94 miles to St Helens.<br><br>So it is certainly within the realm of possibility.

Can you see Seattle from St Helens?<br><br>I swear I saw St Helens from I-5 just south of downtown once, on a really clear day.

<br><br>I'm positive I saw it from the top of Queen Anne Hill one day last year.<br><br>Edited to add: Thinking way back to when I was about 10-12 years old when we had our boat, I remember one summer seeing quite a bit of Rainier from up north of Nanaimo on the Straits of Georgia. That's just a bit north of Vancouver lattiude-wise, albeit there are fewer terrain obstructions from that line of sight.<br>

St Helens is easily visible from the 34th floor of the "Seattle Municipal Tower" at 5th & Columbia - on a clear day. I don't imagine it'll be out today...<br><br>-Dave R