Can you see Havana, Cuba from Key Biscayne, Miami?

No, Earth is in the way

359 km line of sight toward the southwest (bearing 219°), computed on 30 m Copernicus terrain with Earth curvature and standard atmospheric refraction.

The answer

No. Havana, Cuba is 359 km from Key Biscayne, Miami and sits about 19,600 m below the horizon at standard refraction: Earth's curvature hides it.

Miami and Havana share a strait, a history and a lot of wishful thinking about the view. Key Biscayne faces the right way and there is nothing in between but water. So how much Earth stands in the way?

Straight-line distance359 km

Direction219° southwest

Observer eye level12 m

Target elevation30 m

Curvature drop at the target8,836 m

Hidden below the sightline19,600 m

No terrain trickery needed here: the planet itself is the obstacle. Over 359 km, Earth's curvature drops Havana, Cuba a full 8,836 m below a flat sightline, leaving its summit about 19,600 m under the grazing line from Key Biscayne, Miami. No viewpoint at this location, however clear the day, can see over that.

The terrain profile

Elevation profile from Key Biscayne, Miami to Havana, Cuba. Like every elevation profile, the vertical axis is stretched (≈15× here), but the geometry is real: mid-path, Earth's surface genuinely stands 2,535 m above the straight line between the two points (the dashed arc is sea level). Light bends only slightly around that bulge, so whatever it covers stays hidden. Each ray runs solid until terrain cuts it, then continues as the faint ghost of the sightline you would need. Even the stronger-bending ray of a thermal inversion (k = 0.17) stays cut off.

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Frequently asked questions

Can you see Havana, Cuba from Key Biscayne, Miami?

No, not under standard atmospheric conditions. Across 359 km, the view is cut off before reaching the target (see the terrain profile above for exactly where).

How far is Havana, Cuba from Key Biscayne, Miami in a straight line?

359 km great-circle distance, on a bearing of 219° (southwest).

What exactly blocks the view?

Earth's curvature. Over this distance the target drops about 8,836 m below a flat sightline and ends up roughly 19,600 m below the horizon. Only exceptional atmospheric refraction can (sometimes) lift it into view.

How was this calculated?

UpToWhere walks the full terrain profile between the two points on 30 m-resolution Copernicus GLO-30 elevation data, applying Earth curvature and standard atmospheric refraction (k = 0.13), the same physics surveyors use. You can run the same point-to-point check between any two places on Earth.

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