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There is a widely spread myth that Mt. Diablo in Oakland has the second largest viewshed in the world after Mt. Kilimanjaro[1]. With this tool you can actually

There is a widely spread myth that Mt. Diablo in Oakland has the second largest viewshed in the world after Mt. Kilimanjaro[1]. With this tool you can actually compare them directly, which is pretty cool: Mt. Diablo: https://www.heywhatsthat.com/?view=K1JW43D4 https://www.heywhatsthat.com/?view=K1JW43D4 Mt. Kilimanjaro: https://www.heywhatsthat.com/?view=ME9CTRPG https://www.heywhatsthat.com/?view=ME9CTRPG 1: Debunked here: https://www.kqed.org/news/11808501/does-mount-diablo-have-the-biggest-view-in-the-world https://www.kqed.org/news/11808501/does-mount-diablo-have-th...

thedookmaster 5y ago
Mt. Diablo is in Contra Costa County, not Oakland.
- vosper 5y ago
  And at the right time of year there are tarantulas everywhere. Awesome spot.
  - meristem 5y ago
    Loads of NOPE, thank you.
- bjterry 5y ago
  Thanks for the correction. It felt a lot closer, but I haven't been there in a long time.
jeffbee 5y ago
The way of getting the land area of the viewshed from this presentation is not immediately obvious.
- bjterry 5y ago
  My non-scientific method was to put the two windows side-by-side, and click the "zoom out" button three times to eyeball the difference.
Archelaos 5y ago
What about Mt. Taranaki? https://www.heywhatsthat.com/?view=AVRM3QXH https://www.heywhatsthat.com/?view=AVRM3QXH Mostly ocean, but it seems to cover a wider area.
scythe 5y ago
Off the top of my head, I'd figure Mt. Shasta must have a much larger viewable area than anything in the Bay Area.
oonerspism 5y ago
Not to be flippant, but it's fascinating to think how an average airline passenger may trivially (and very approximately!) match or even beat such a land-based record simply by looking out the window at 40,000ft. *about twice Kilimanjaro's elevation, for the record. Many semantics potentially apply, of course! But the principle is there. The principle that, for many decades now, humans have been matching the entire planet's largest natural viewshed, as a trivial matter of course during the everyday usage of technology, and barely even noticing most of the time...

thedookmaster 5y ago

Mt. Diablo is in Contra Costa County, not Oakland.

vosper 5y ago
And at the right time of year there are tarantulas everywhere. Awesome spot.
- meristem 5y ago
  Loads of NOPE, thank you.
bjterry 5y ago
Thanks for the correction. It felt a lot closer, but I haven't been there in a long time.

jeffbee 5y ago

The way of getting the land area of the viewshed from this presentation is not immediately obvious.

bjterry 5y ago
My non-scientific method was to put the two windows side-by-side, and click the "zoom out" button three times to eyeball the difference.

Archelaos 5y ago

What about Mt. Taranaki? https://www.heywhatsthat.com/?view=AVRM3QXH https://www.heywhatsthat.com/?view=AVRM3QXH Mostly ocean, but it seems to cover a wider area.

scythe 5y ago

Off the top of my head, I'd figure Mt. Shasta must have a much larger viewable area than anything in the Bay Area.

oonerspism 5y ago

Not to be flippant, but it's fascinating to think how an average airline passenger may trivially (and very approximately!) match or even beat such a land-based record simply by looking out the window at 40,000ft. *about twice Kilimanjaro's elevation, for the record. Many semantics potentially apply, of course! But the principle is there. The principle that, for many decades now, humans have been matching the entire planet's largest natural viewshed, as a trivial matter of course during the everyday usage of technology, and barely even noticing most of the time...