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UpToWhere · Can you see it?

Can you see Southeast Farallon Island from Lands End, San Francisco?

Yes — you can

44 km line of sight toward the west-southwest (bearing -102°), computed on 30 m Copernicus terrain with Earth curvature and standard atmospheric refraction.

Most San Franciscans have never noticed them, yet on the clearest days a jagged little archipelago appears off the Golden Gate — the Farallones, 40 km out in the Pacific, hiding in plain sight.

3D terrain view from Lands End, San Francisco toward Southeast Farallon Island
Straight-line distance44 km
Direction-102° west-southwest
Observer eye level42 m
Target elevation86 m
Curvature drop at the target132 m
Clearance margin+4 m

From Lands End, San Francisco, at an eye level of 42 m, the sightline to Southeast Farallon Island runs 44 km and clears every ridge in between. Over that distance Earth's curvature drops the target 132 m below a flat-earth line — but at 86 m, it still rises above the horizon. The view is geometrically real: whether you actually get it depends on haze, not terrain. The tightest squeeze is mid-path, where the sightline passes just 4 m above the terrain at km 44.

The line on the map

Satellite map with the sightline from Lands End, San Francisco to Southeast Farallon Island drawn in red
The 44 km sightline over satellite imagery, drawn as the great-circle path light would follow.

The terrain profile

-0 m500 m sightlineLands EndSoutheast Farallon Isla… 0 km44 km10203040
Elevation profile from Lands End, San Francisco to Southeast Farallon Island. Like every elevation profile, the vertical axis is stretched (≈15× here) — but the geometry is real: mid-path, Earth's surface genuinely stands 38 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.
Check your own two points with the calculator →

Frequently asked questions

Can you see Southeast Farallon Island from Lands End, San Francisco?

Yes. The terrain-limited line of sight is clear across 44 km, accounting for Earth's curvature and standard atmospheric refraction. Atmospheric haze is the only thing that can hide the view.

How far is Southeast Farallon Island from Lands End, San Francisco in a straight line?

44 km great-circle distance, on a bearing of -102° (west-southwest).

How much does Earth's curvature hide over 44 km?

At the target's distance the curvature drop is about 132 m: anything lower than that (relative to the observer's horizon plane) is hidden behind the bulge of the Earth. Southeast Farallon Island is tall enough to rise above it.

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.

More famous sightlines

Wondering about a different pair?

The free calculator shows how far you can see from any point on Earth. Pro adds point-to-point checks — this exact analysis, between any two places you choose.

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