How high up in the air would you have to go to see the Superior from Calumet? Or where you live? Just curious. I drive down the long road to Hancock and suddenly you can see it...I was wondering if there was a building high enough in Calumet or Laurium to see it...how high would it be. Have you tried that with your drone?
~ Will
"How high up in the air would you have to go to see the Superior from Calumet?"
Of course the answer would depend on what you mean by "Superior".
There is of course some higher terrain west of Calumet, but if you want to see "Superior" in the vicinity of Little Traverse Bay, here are some numbers (as to terrain elevation):
1. In a direct line from 6th & Oak (el. ≈1218.9') on a bearing of ≈ 137° magnetic, (or ≈ 132.5° true), to Little Traverse Bay, the max. elevation you'd encounter would be ≈ 1240.6', somewhere in a radius of ≈ 585’ from the south end of Mine St. near Calumet High School so you'd probably have to get up perhaps >=30'.
2. From the south end of Mine St. near Calumet High School (on the same bearing), you'd probably need less elevation than that, perhaps ≈ 20', to see "Superior" at Little Traverse Bay.
Any man-made structures along that line of sight would of course require a higher elevation.
Here's a terrain profile along the above line of sight (click image to zoom in);
the red vertical line at the left edge is at 6th and Elm; the one to the right of that is at Mine St.
Incidentally, that point at the south end of Mine St. near Calumet High School would be > 5 sm. from CMX, thus legal for the operation of a drone at the elevations mentioned above.
3. For a line of sight toward Big Traverse Bay, at the mouth of the Traverse River say, from Mine St. (≈ 170' south of Church St.) you'd encounter a max. elevation of ≈ 1241.1' with Caledonia St. at ≈ 1237.5', after which the terrain drops quite quickly.
4. Looking more westerly, for a line of sight from 6th & Oak (el. ≈ 1218.9') toward somewhere near Lakeshore Drive on a bearing of ≈ 276.5° magnetic, (or ≈ 272.2° true), you'd find a max. altitude of ≈ 1253' (at ≈ 6th St. & Oak St. — at Tamarack Location, that is) , so you'd need an elevation of probably a bit more than 35'; probably slightly less if you start somewhere near the west end of Tamarack Location, where the elevation slopes down from ≈ 1200' to the lake.
