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So, with the character of the land itself being such an important part of the setting, I've been thinking about how far a character can see when he's out travelling.

Ok, let's say you're on the slopes of the Lonely Mountain, or on the top of the Carrock. On a clear day, how far could you actually see? This information would be very useful when describing the setting. For instance, when emerging from a long trek trough Mirkwood along the Elven Path, would the characters see the river valley of the Anduin? Would they see the river itself?

I tried to google this, but all I got were gun sights and mathematic formulaes.

Eirik

For a six-foot tall person, the horizon is a little more than 3 miles (5 km) away.

Geometry tells us that the distance of the horizon – i.e. the farthest point the eye can see before Earth curves out beneath our view – depends simply on the height of the observer. For example, if you stood atop Mount Everest (which is 29,029 feet, or 8,848 meters tall), the horizon would be about 230 miles (370 km) away.

Source: http://www.livescience.com/32111-how-fa ... rizon.html

More info here:

Dust, water vapour and pollution in the air will rarely let you see more than 20 kilometres (12 miles), even on a clear day. Often, the curvature of the Earth gets in the way first – eg at sea level, the horizon is only 4.8 kilometres (2.9 miles) away. On the top of Mt Everest, you could theoretically see for 339 kilometres (211 miles), but in practice cloud gets in the way. For a truly unobstructed view though, look up. On a clear night, you can see the Andromeda galaxy with the naked eye, which is 2.25 million light years away.

Source: http://www.howitworksdaily.com/environm ... bstructed/

Don't forget that Tolkien's characters can often see detail at impossible distances.

Didn't Bilbo see snow glow white on the Lonely Mountain while climbing the High Pass? That's over 250 miles so it had to be a very clear day.

Don't forget the unnaturally good vision of the Elves.

When they're take the hobbits to Isengard elves can see it miles and miles away.

Lugija wrote:Didn't Bilbo see snow glow white on the Lonely Mountain while climbing the High Pass? That's over 250 miles so it had to be a very clear day.

No. Bilbo doesn't see the Lonely Mountain until he emerges from Mirkwood.

Stormcrow wrote:

Lugija wrote:Didn't Bilbo see snow glow white on the Lonely Mountain while climbing the High Pass? That's over 250 miles so it had to be a very clear day.

No. Bilbo doesn't see the Lonely Mountain until he emerges from Mirkwood.

It's on the return journey:

Chapter 18 wrote:At last they came up the long road, and reached the very pass where the goblins had captured them before. But they came to that high point at morning, and looking backward they saw a white sun shining over the outstretched lands. There behind lay Mirkwood, blue in the distance, and darkly green at the nearer edge even in the spring. There far away was the Lonely Mountain on the edge of eyesight. On its highest peak snow yet unmelted was gleaming pale.

Gleaming snow of course would show up better than the surroundings but still, those are some elf-eyes.

Lugija wrote:Didn't Bilbo see snow glow white on the Lonely Mountain while climbing the High Pass? That's over 250 miles so it had to be a very clear day.

The primary view limits are horizon and haze/smoke/clouds.

On a clear day from home, I can see mountain peaks 150 miles from home pretty darned easily... but surface horizon's only about 6 miles. Altitude makes a HUGE difference. (Mind you, the peaks in question include several of the the largest in North America, including Denali.)

And the only time haze/smoke should be a real issue is during fires.

Which leaves clouds. On the way to Mirkwood, the pass is stormy. Visibility probably less than 300 feet.

aramis wrote:but surface horizon's only about 6 miles.

It's actually nearer to 3 miles, unless you're far taller than other people on the planet - see my first two posts in this thread. You may be able to see structures and features up to 6 miles away but that will be because they are above the surface horizon or you're on higher ground.