How far is the ocean away from land?

Answer 1

This is a complicated question and depends on two things:-

1) how high are you standing above the ocean (e.g. are you swimming or standing on the top desk of a cruise liner) - the higher you are the further you can see.

2) how high the land you are looking at is above the sea (e.g is it a sand bar that is just above the waves or is it a 1000 ft high cliff) - the higher the land the further away you can see it.

The basic formula for the distance to the horizon when at sea is:

D = (112.88 km) * ( the square root of h)

Where:

D = distance to the horizon in kilometers

(112.88 is actually the square root of the earth's diameter in km)

h = height in km your eyes are above the waves.

Thus if you are standing on the sea eyes are about 2 meters (0.002km) above the ocean surface , D = 5 km.

You can use this equation to work a more detailed problem - say your land was a mountain 4 km high then you would see it from 226 km away.

Answer 2

The distance between the ocean and land can vary greatly depending on the specific location. In general, the ocean can start right at the edge of the land, but it can also be several miles away in certain coastal areas with wide beaches or marshlands.

Answer 3

Depends whee you are on land...