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According to Maryln Van DeSavant I seem to recall she said 7 miles. From basic geometry, you get that the distance to the horizon is D=sqrt(2Rh) where D = distance to horizon R = radius of earth h = height of observer, which would be the height of your eyes. R and h have to be in consistent units, of course. In feet the radius of the earth is about 4000 mi * 5000 ft/mi or 20 million feet. Standing on the shore, your eyes are maybe 5 feet above the surface, so D=sqrt(2*20e6*5)= 14000 feet, or a little under three miles. There are some other effects that make that number a little different. Refraction bends your line of sight, so you can see a little bit farther. If you're looking at an object on the water, like a ship, you also get the distance on the other side of the horizion that corresponds to the height of the target. ==How to calculate the distance yourself== To get an "approximate" distance to the oceanic horizon from a particular observation point, take the square root of the height of the observation point, add 22.5%, and that will give you the distance in statute miles. For example, if your eyes were 6 feet off the ground, and you stood atop a 50' tower, your observation point would be 56'. The square root of 56' is 7.48. Add 22.5% of 7.48 (1.68) to 7.48 and you have 9.16 statute miles from your eyes to the horizon.

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15y ago
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11y ago

Horizon means an imaginary line where the Earth meets with the Sky.

This happens when we look at sky and Land together from a distance

Hence we can never reach the horizon
If you mean horizon...standing at sea level, eye level at 6 feet, distance is 3 miles.

from 100 feet high, the distance is 12.3 miles

from 200 feet high, the distance is 17.3 miles

from 300 feet high, the distance is 21.2miles

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11y ago

Lying on fairly flat beach -- eye height 1/2 metre -- horizon 2.5 km

Child standing at water edge -- eye height 1 metre -- horizon 3.6 km

Adult standing near water edge -- eye height 2 metre -- horizon 5.1 km

Low dune at back of beach/lifesavers' tower -- eye height 5 metre -- horizon 8 km

All of these are "geometric horizons". Actual distances to the horizon -- "optical horizons" -- are usually a little greater than this. An extra 15-20% is typical. Sometimes atmospheric conditions produce a much greater horizon distance.

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14y ago

1.17 multiplied by the square root of the height of your eye in feet.

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9y ago

If your eye-line is at a height of 1.70 metres while standing on the seashore, the horizon is 4.65 km away.

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12y ago

The distance of the hoizon is dependant on your height of observation.

If you are 6 feet above the sea level, the hoizon is 3 miles away.

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Q: How far can you see on the horizon?
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How far can you see the horizon on land?

Depends on how sunny it is that day


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