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UpToWhere Can you see it?

Can you see Jbel Tidighine, Rif Mountains from Mulhacén, Sierra Nevada?

Yes, you can

268 km line of sight toward the south-southwest (bearing 204°), computed on 30 m Copernicus terrain with Earth curvature and standard atmospheric refraction.

The answer

Yes. Jbel Tidighine, Rif Mountains is visible from Mulhacén, Sierra Nevada across 268 km, looking down: Earth's curvature drops the target 4,910 m, leaving its top 5,934 m below eye level and still clear of the ground in between.

From the highest summit of mainland Spain, hikers claim to see the mountains of another continent across the Alboran Sea. It sounds like summit euphoria, until you run the numbers.

3D terrain view from Mulhacén, Sierra Nevada toward Jbel Tidighine, Rif Mountains
Straight-line distance268 km
Direction204° south-southwest
Observer eye level3,474 m
Target elevation2,450 m
Curvature drop at the target4,910 m
Below your eye level5,934 m

From Mulhacén, Sierra Nevada, at an eye level of 3,474 m, the sightline to Jbel Tidighine, Rif Mountains runs 268 km and clears every ridge in between. Over that distance Earth's curvature drops the target 4,910 m below a flat-earth line, but at 2,450 m, it still rises above the horizon. The view is geometrically real: whether you actually get it depends on haze, not terrain.

The line on the map

Satellite map with the sightline from Mulhacén, Sierra Nevada to Jbel Tidighine, Rif Mountains drawn in red
The 268 km sightline over satellite imagery, drawn as the great-circle path light would follow.

The terrain profile

2,000 m4,000 m6,000 m sea level (curved) sightlineMulhacénJbel Tidighine 0 km268 km100200
Elevation profile from Mulhacén, Sierra Nevada to Jbel Tidighine, Rif Mountains. Like every elevation profile, the vertical axis is stretched (≈15× here), but the geometry is real: mid-path, Earth's surface genuinely stands 1,409 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 Jbel Tidighine, Rif Mountains from Mulhacén, Sierra Nevada?

Yes. The terrain-limited line of sight is clear across 268 km, accounting for Earth's curvature and standard atmospheric refraction. Atmospheric haze is the only thing that can hide the view.

How far is Jbel Tidighine, Rif Mountains from Mulhacén, Sierra Nevada in a straight line?

268 km great-circle distance, on a bearing of 204° (south-southwest).

How much does Earth's curvature hide over 268 km?

At the target's distance the curvature drop is about 4,910 m: anything lower than that (relative to the observer's horizon plane) is hidden behind the bulge of the Earth. Jbel Tidighine, Rif Mountains 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.

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