While some skylines might be visible under ideal conditions from further away, the chance of seeing Calgary from 50+ km away is very likely given the predominantly clear skies and the fact that the land rises in almost every direction from downtown meaning that one is typically looking down on the skyline. I don't have any pictures, but I've seen downtown Calgary from the summit of Mount Sparrowhawk which has got to be 100km away.
those typical mt rainier looming over seattle photos always boggle me...ive been to seattle 10 times and i have never even seen mt rainier...these photos make it look as though you could ski down it and catch the chair back up at the bottom of the space needle
"Typical" is what is misleading. I lived in Seattle for 4 years as a kid and then another 4 as an adult. Ranier absolutely dominates the Seattle area when skies are exceptionally clear, which is almost never. The same can be said about Hood and St. Helens over Portland and to a lesser extent Baker over the Lower Mainland. I've seen days in Portland when St. Helens, Hood and Adams seemed so close you could almost touch them.
While some skylines might be visible under ideal conditions from further away, the chance of seeing Calgary from 50+ km away is very likely given the predominantly clear skies and the fact that the land rises in almost every direction from downtown meaning that one is typically looking down on the skyline. I don't have any pictures, but I've seen downtown Calgary from the summit of Mount Sparrowhawk which has got to be 100km away.
At night can't you see ST Calgary from the edge of the rockies along the trans-Canada?
"Typical" is what is misleading. I lived in Seattle for 4 years as a kid and then another 4 as an adult. Ranier absolutely dominates the Seattle area when skies are exceptionally clear, which is almost never. The same can be said about Hood and St. Helens over Portland and to a lesser extent Baker over the Lower Mainland. I've seen days in Portland when St. Helens, Hood and Adams seemed so close you could almost touch them.
It's a neat effect. On clear days in Winter, the Sleeping Giant looks so big you think it can't be any more than 3 or 4 miles away, but add some heat and humidity and it seems to shrink away.
While some skylines might be visible under ideal conditions from further away, the chance of seeing Calgary from 50+ km away is very likely given the predominantly clear skies and the fact that the land rises in almost every direction from downtown meaning that one is typically looking down on the skyline. I don't have any pictures, but I've seen downtown Calgary from the summit of Mount Sparrowhawk which has got to be 100km away.
The picture I posted earlier was from the summit of Mount Bogart, which I believe is in the same general neighbourhood as Mount Sparrowhawk (which I haven't climbed). But I'd guess that Sparrowhawk is somewhere around the same distance as Bogart from downtown Calgary, somewhere around 85-90km.
At night can't you see ST Calgary from the edge of the rockies along the trans-Canada?
Not quite. You first see the city/city lights - albeit briefly - on the down side of Scott Lake hill which is technically foothills. From Exshaw (the rough edge of the Rockies) until Scott lake hill you are in the Bow valley bottom and cannot see the city.
I have been on a number of peaks where I have seen the city - ones I believe that are farther out than Sparrowhawk and Bogart. I will have to check my notes and figure out which one is the furtherest out.
I guess we have a winner here. I'm starting to feel like, if I squint, I might be able to see Calgary from the CN Tower. Regina obviously gets props for it's visibility to building height ratio .
Regina can be seen from a LOOOOOOONG way out too. In the night time you can pretty much see the city as soon as you leave Moose Jaw. From the east the skyline looms ahead of you for what seems like forever. From far off, the skyline also looks deceptively taller than it actually is.
I guess this raises the question of whether or not camera zoom should be taken into account when stating whether or not the skyline can be seen by the human eye. From the human eye, Toronto's skyline looks tiny from St. Catharines.
Not sure of the distance across the lake, but St. Catharines is a little over 100km from downtown Toronto when driving.
On a nice clear day from the human eye you can basically see a bunch of grey boxes, a shiny white dome and a grey tall skinny stick from Hamilton Mountain looking towards Toronto.
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