So, with so many of the Palin/McCain statements proving flagrantly untrue, can you really see Russia from Alaska?
1) No: The Bering Strait is 53 miles across, which means you can’t see Russia across it because of the curvature of the earth. freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2080507/posts
2) Yes: ”and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.” — Sarah Palin
3) Maybe (on a technicality): A Yahoo Answer Poster said, ”Actually, the answer is yes and no. From the mainland, there is no way to see Russia from Alaska. The distance is too great.
However, there are two islands in the Bering Staight – Big Diomede and Little Diomede. The big island is Russian and the small one American. They are 1.5 miles from each other. Interestingly, the International Date Line separates the two, so there is a time difference of 23 hours between the two.”
answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080105000254AAQYxI1
And finally, for fun, catch Tina Fey’s SNL impression of Sarah Palin here…
Tags: Humor, Neocon, Palin, Republican, Sarah Palin, WTF
Hello,
I keep hearing others repeat what you assert about not being able to see Russia from Alaska. That is incorrect, I’m afraid.
I am a school district administrator for the Bering Strait School District, and you can see Russia with the naked eye from five of our villages. Two are on the mainland, and three on islands in the Strait.
The closest to Russia is 1.5 miles from the International Dateline, and therefore Russia itself. The cliffs of Russia’s ”Big Diomede Island” (not their name for it) are only three miles across the ice / water, and there is Russian Border Guard station on that island.
We hae a webcam there which visitors can steer and look ”into tomorrow”, but the intense traffic since Governor Palin was nominated has crashed it. We’ll get it going again soon so you can see for yourself
Regards,
John
John,
I listed three possible answers to the question of whether one could see Russia from Alaska. Thank you for confirming item number 3 in the posting.
If the Russian coast can be seen from mainland villages, is the viewpoint on a mountain or high hill? I’ve read that 53 miles separates the land masses at the nearest point and that the curvature of the earth would make such a view impossible.
Please consider posting the link to the webcam.
Thanks,
Eric