How far away can you see a Volcano?

[dougmander]

Let's take the guesswork out of it, shall we? There's a simple formula for this stuff.
Multiply the square root of your eye height (in feet) by 1.17.
The result is the distance to the horizon in nautical miles.
So if you're about 6 feet tall, the horizon is about 2.9 nautical miles away.
The top of a tall object can often be seen poking over the horizon. To paraphrase Nietzsche, when you gaze at the volcano, the volcano also gazes at you. A 14,000 ft. volcano has a horizon of 138.4 nautical miles. Add your own piddling 2.9 mile horizon, and you can see the top of that volcano 141.3 nautical miles away, assuming good seeing conditions.

To convert nautical miles to statute miles, multiply by 1.15077945. So the answer would be 162.6 statute miles. Phew!

 

[sniffles]

I'd definitely think you could see the volcano that far away (although I don't know how much distance a hex represents). I can see Mount St. Helens from my house, and it's about 100 miles from here (guessing, can't remember).