How far away can the Detroit Skyline be seen? (Ann Arbor: neighborhoods, school)

[kingkobra]

I have seen it from the Somerset parking garage in Troy (3 floors up, 18 mi as the crow flies)
Also from nw hwy and 13 mile rd (20 mi)
I 94 by the airport
Dutton rd and bald mountain rd in Auburn hills

Places that it is possibly visible from/I have heard its visible from (need confirmation)

Put in bay monument (63 miles, this would probably win of it is visible)
Toledo's tallest building
Tower plaza in Ann Arbor
M 14 and m 153 exit
Romeo golf course hole one (34 miles)
Pine knob ski area
Alpine valley ski area (seems plausible)
Metro beach
Stoney creek metropark
School craft college parking lot

It seems as if you are 8 stories up you can usually see it from anywhere in the metro. Has anyone seen it from these places or seen it from another? If you have pics that'd be great.

[djmilf]

This web page calculates the distance to the horizon for a given height (link).

Since Detroit and Put in Bay are at about the same elevation (roughly 600 feet above sea level) and the monument at Put in Bay is 352 feet tall, the horizon viewed from the top of the monument is 23 miles away. Not only is Detroit much farther away than 23 miles, there's also a lot of Canada that gets in the way of the view.

Or, you could look at this picture...



Which is the view from the top of the monument to the north east towards Pelee Island, which is barely visible on the horizon.

...

There's a Benedictine Monastery south off of Drahner Road in Orion Township that's about 600 feet in elevation higher than downtown Detroit (about 1250 feet vs 600 feet). The monastery is situated on a hill with a clear view to the south. Drahner Road is 33 miles north of Campus Martius, which means that the horizon is roughly 30 miles away. You just might see the tops of the Detroit buildings from there.

[animatedmartian]

It might be easier to determine the farthest landmark you could see from the top of the Ren Cen and assume the inverse is true.


https://flic.kr/p/gkmRfp
^From this photo, looking northwest (not on the clearest of days), it seems like Chrysler HQ is just on the horizon along with some sizable hills nearby. That would make the Ren Cen visible from around 25 miles out, assuming the other locations are at or above the same height.

Here's that on a map.

[Republic of Michigan]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

It might be easier to determine the farthest landmark you could see from the top of the Ren Cen and assume the inverse is true.


https://flic.kr/p/gkmRfp
^From this photo, looking northwest (not on the clearest of days), it seems like Chrysler HQ is just on the horizon along with some sizable hills nearby. That would make the Ren Cen visible from around 25 miles out, assuming the other locations are at or above the same height.

Here's that on a map.

It's amazing how half of the Detroit's region is either water or Canada if downtown Detroit is placed in the middle of this circle. It would have been interesting to see how urban development would have been had Windsor and its area been part of the USA. I would wager that areas as far as Wixom and perhaps even Novi may not have been developed.

[Jimmy252]

Found this picture online looking up Grand River from downtown. The hill on the horizon to the left, would that be the trash mound at 6 Mile and Napier in Salem Twp? That would be about 30 miles.

I also know you can see the skyline over the open waters of Lake St. Clair from the Algonac area.

Also, one of my family members said back in the late 80s, you could see the skyline from a hill on the west side of Halsted between 12 Mile and 13 Mile. That entire area is neighborhoods now though.

[Republic of Michigan]

Originally Posted by Jimmy252

Found this picture online looking up Grand River from downtown. The hill on the horizon to the left, would that be the trash mound at 6 Mile and Napier in Salem Twp? That would be about 30 miles.

I also know you can see the skyline over the open waters of Lake St. Clair from the Algonac area.

Also, one of my family members said back in the late 80s, you could see the skyline from a hill on the west side of Halsted between 12 Mile and 13 Mile. That entire area is neighborhoods now though.

You can clearly see the Detroit skyline from 13 Mile Rd and Northwestern Highway which is 21 miles away.

[SQL]

I used to be able to see the Renaissance Building from a small hill top at 13 Mile and John R.

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by Jimmy252

Found this picture online looking up Grand River from downtown. The hill on the horizon to the left, would that be the trash mound at 6 Mile and Napier in Salem Twp? That would be about 30 miles.

I think I've seen the skyline a little bit from M-14 between Beck and Sheldon as you crest over the railroad tracks (possibly both at day and at night). At night though, you can for sure see a glimpse of some bright lights over where downtown is since there's not too much light pollution along M-14. Never realized how far out that probably was.

[kingkobra]

Can anyone confirm it can be seen from alpine valley ski area in white lake mi? 30 miles away but seems feasible given elevation

[scorpio516]

The math says you can see the ren cen from 53 km away. I guess if your in Lake St Clair maybe?

Hills or tall building screw it up. For example you can see mountains in New York from Mt Washington, NH 130 miles away.

HeyWhatsThat
Everything red would be visable from the top. That just uses topo data, not buildings. Thus you should be able to see the skyline from tall buildings in Ann Arbor