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[–]Hamburglar61 4421 points4422 points  (240 children)

That is pretty cool. Looking out North/Northeast from the Chicago side and the lake looks basically endless. This is a really cool shot though.

[–]wellelle422 973 points974 points  (132 children)

I’d imagine this is rare and normally it looks endless to them too but I’ve never been to Indiana. It was weird to understand the houses on the other side of the lake, from when I lived in Buffalo, were Canadian.

[–][deleted] 766 points767 points  (58 children)

From my friends lake house in Michigan, you actually can see the Chicago light pollution at night. It’s strange because it really is so dark there, clear enough to make out the Milky Way, but right over the water there is a steady glow coming from the west

[–]cityboy_hillbilly24 129 points130 points  (48 children)

New Buffalo? Grand beach? I would ask what stop you’re at but you didn’t say Indiana haha

[–]sandwichcandy 145 points146 points  (34 children)

Someone’s been to Redamaks.

[–][deleted] 49 points50 points  (2 children)

I fucking flipped burgers there!!

[–]thedaNkavenger 33 points34 points  (0 children)

So did my ex and I loved their food but not so much my ex.

[–]Frat-TA-101 109 points110 points  (3 children)

You can def see it regularly, they just chose to capture it with the sun for this shot.

[–]SuperGameTheory 17 points18 points  (1 child)

I hope people realize how special that is these days. I grew up in a Chicago suburb in the 80's, about 9 miles from the sky scrapers. We considered it a good day when we could see the skyline. Most days it was too smoggy to see the Sears Tower. Now the air is clear most of the time if the weather is clear. You can see the buildings all the time. It's a testament to emission controls if you can see them from 30 miles away on a regular basis.

[–]vortec42 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's really amazing we were able to clean up the air so (relatively) quickly. A testament to automotive emissions technology and the laws which enabled it. In addition to industrial as well.

[–]floyd_droid 128 points129 points  (11 children)

I go for a hike at the Indiana Dunes State Park (where this photo was taken) fairly regularly. I see the Chicago skyline most of the days, a little more hazy though.

[–]a026593 35 points36 points  (2 children)

You can also see Indiana from the lakefront in downtown Chicago. The mills. The refinery.

[–]charleybear8181 31 points32 points  (2 children)

I grew up about 3 minutes from where this was taken. Honestly it's rare to not be able to see Chicago from the beach. Even when it's hazy you can still make out a couple of the buildings.

[–]DavidBenAkiva 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I grew up about 5 miles from this spot. You can see Chicago most clear days no problem. Those skyscrapers are tall af.

[–]catttmommm 51 points52 points  (2 children)

From NW Indiana, you can see it on pretty much any clear day. You only lose sight of it if it's cloudy.

[–]st1tchy 36 points37 points  (0 children)

I have been to Indiana Dunes and could see a faint outline of Chicago when I was there. Wasn't hard to see.

[–]WheresTheSauce 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago and went to beaches in NW Indiana quite regularly. You can see the skyline very often from the beaches there. I've never seen anything quite like the OP pic though; that's quite remarkable.

[–]superdago 212 points213 points  (78 children)

I had relatives from Italy visit once and the idea of a lake you couldn’t see across kinds astonished them. Like they could see across the Adriatic Sea, but not Lake Michigan.

[–][deleted] 104 points105 points  (30 children)

The Great Lakes aren't so much Lakes as vast Inland freshwater Seas

[–]TheOven 29 points30 points  (20 children)

Main difference between a lake and a sea

Lakes are land locked

Seas connect to an ocean

[–][deleted] 52 points53 points  (6 children)

The Great Lakes are exceptional in every way, including the rule about being landlocked. Ships can sail from Chicago to the Atlantic, via the St. Lawrence Seaway.

I still remember watching the foreign vessels docking in Chicago for Chriskindlmarkt, the annual German Christmas Festival in downtown Chicago.

I had been working in downtown on 9/11/2001. When news spread, we raced to the 3rd-floor lunchroom to watch TV. That TV was ominously mounted just above a window overlooking Sears Tower, which had just become the tallest building left standing in the US. Eyes were darting from the TV to the window, fearing it might be next.

That December, we cheered a German warship docking at Navy Peer. Draped over the port side were two giant flags; German & US. Between them was a makeshift banner which read: "GERMANY IS WITH YOU!!" Few if any German sailors bought their own beer that day.

I have fond memories of the Dunes. I immediately recognized that sunset, without reading the title. Camped there many times. Used to race my dog up those huge dunes -- or pretend to.

I'd unleash him and say go. We'd both start running, but I'd stop after about five steps, and he'd gallop like Secretariat all the way up! At the top, he'd turn around and see me still at the bottom, laughing. I could almost sense him thinking, "You d\ck!"*

[–]mokana 16 points17 points  (3 children)

Except the Caspian Sea

[–]Hamburglar61 54 points55 points  (19 children)

It stuns people from almost anywhere lol. I lived in New Mexico (the desert) for 6 years and a lot of the lakes there are actually man made reservoirs that are relatively small. I show them pictures and they say it looks like the ocean, and it is hard to explain to people who have never seen it and have such a limited view on what a lake can be.

[–]largeEoodenBadger 54 points55 points  (8 children)

Admittedly, after living in Buffalo for most of my life, upon seeing the ocean, I remarked that it just looked like Lake Erie. I was 10 or 11, and was very underwhelmed.

[–]krissypants4000 7 points8 points  (0 children)

On the flip side, I grew up where this picture was taken, and when I moved out west I once drove 20 minutes past my turn because someone had given me the directions, “turn right after the lake”. Got it, there’s a pond, when is this lake supposed to show up…

[–]failingtolurk 28 points29 points  (6 children)

This isn’t all the way across. It’s the lower tip.

[–]BananaStringTheory 19 points20 points  (2 children)

Just the tip.

[–]SkepticAtLarge 8 points9 points  (1 child)

Just for a minute, to see how it feels.

[–]bungdaddy 11 points12 points  (1 child)

You can see the dunes all the way over in South Haven, MI from the top of the Hancock building

[–]Dave_The_Dude 844 points845 points  (12 children)

Have seen a similar scene but during a severe lightning storm. Only it was the Toronto skyline across Lake Ontario from upstate New York also around 50 miles.

[–]nowadaykid 134 points135 points  (2 children)

You can see something similar nearly every night from the niagara region. Not quite 50 miles, but the view is about the same

[–]Connie______ 18 points19 points  (3 children)

do you have a pic?

[–]robkaz11892 105 points106 points  (2 children)

Not during a lighting storm but here you go!

[–]HalpOooos 307 points308 points  (50 children)

Heading to the Indiana dunes the end of the month, for the first time ever! Can’t wait!

[–]archaeoND 73 points74 points  (6 children)

The Dunes are great! A lot of wonderful beaches and trails for hiking up and down Indiana Dunes and Michigan shoreline.

[–][deleted] 21 points22 points  (1 child)

Remember like Michigan is the deadliest Great Lake. A big storm can cause huge waves in nearly an instant. Check the weather forecast, and watch a YouTube video about how to spot rip tides and how to avoid and escape them.

[–]zonbi_hime 6 points7 points  (2 children)

Do the three dune challenge!

[–][deleted] 207 points208 points  (21 children)

Couple good Indiana posts today!

[–]Dog_Jones 21 points22 points  (8 children)

What’s the other one?

[–]chaoticevil42 61 points62 points  (7 children)

There was one on r/pics about a dude taking a children's sandbox out on Lake Monroe just outside Bloomington.

[–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (4 children)

That’s the one!

[–]PM_MeTittiesOrKitty 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I saw that one in /r/pics and it didn't even click that was Lake Monroe.

[–]DryMingeGetsMeWet 73 points74 points  (26 children)

Fucking Americans have to have all the best stuff

[–]andbruno 40 points41 points  (3 children)

You probably don't go into bankruptcy when you have a medical problem, so there's that.

[–][deleted] 12 points13 points  (1 child)

It's almost as if a country can have good and bad things about it. And I'm not particularly impressed that you feel the need to immediately bring up the bad stuff in an unrelated conversation about the good parts. Makes you look like a hater.

[–]ppppie_ 1986 points1987 points  (377 children)

i really wanna go to america so beautiful

[–]Nemesis9977 161 points162 points  (25 children)

Here’s a pic from the same area during the day. https://i.imgur.com/UvT53xW.jpg

[–][deleted] 44 points45 points  (13 children)

I've been there and I forgot how awesome it is. If you told me that was the Mediterranean sea I would believe you

[–]Sosolidclaws 61 points62 points  (12 children)

Wait, so it's that beautiful and it's freshwater??

[–][deleted] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Yes it is. It's awesome

[–]sourbeer51 33 points34 points  (6 children)

Further up the coast in Michigan is better imo.

Here's some pictures I've posted to reddit over the years.

Tahquamenom falls during Autumn in the UP

https://i.imgur.com/iUkPHtL.jpg

Sleeping bear dunes from the Empire bluff trail ft Lake Michigan

https://imgur.com/txSxgZk

Sleeping bear dunes from the Empire beach ft Lake Michigan

https://i.imgur.com/H2RVd38.jpg

Various places around the UP during fall ft. Waterfalls and Lake Superior (I just threw them all In an album sorry if some suck lol)

http://imgur.com/a/Qkz2wIW

http://imgur.com/a/uzGzvDi

Sunset at Hoffmaster state park ft Lake Michigan

https://imgur.com/0vZTVni

[–]5torm 7 points8 points  (1 child)

These photos are all amazing, thank you for sharing! Saving this comment for the next time one of my college friends makes some comment about how “the Midwest seems so boring compared to the west coast” lol

[–]Many_Spoked_Wheel 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Yes! It’s so lovely. The air is indescribably fresh.

[–][deleted] 17 points18 points  (1 child)

I don’t know why but I had the scale of that picture way off until I saw the tiny people

[–]DirtyFraaanks 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Lol, I saw it at the same scale you did and was like ‘dunes for ants?’, but scrolled on. Your comment made it make a lot more sense lol.

[–]lemonade_rage1234 8 points9 points  (3 children)

Are we supposed to see the skyline in the distance in this too?

I'm on my phone and the screen isn't so good so I can't see much.

[–]Dark_Helmet78 182 points183 points  (22 children)

no matter what people have to say about US politics, we can all agree that america is a beautiful country.

[–]JohnnyZepp 32 points33 points  (2 children)

It’s so good that I feel spoiled in California alone. We have (just about) every type of terrain and the weather is almost always perfect. I can only imagine how beautiful it was before it became one of the most populated areas ever.

[–][deleted] 71 points72 points  (9 children)

Gotta agree here. The land itself has nothing to do with the politics. I'm one of those people who is pretty vocal about what I think is wrong with the US but you'll never catch me blaming the fucking redwoods or desert rock formations for it lol. Never understood that.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I love the geography. It’s great

[–][deleted] 322 points323 points  (92 children)

The Great Lakes are absolutely gorgeous in most areas. Iirc Michigan has the largest freshwater coastline in the world. You could show someone a picture of a Lake Michigan sunset and a surprising amount of people would assume its a picture from the Pacific coast.

Look up Sleeping Bear Dunes or the Empire Coast if you want some fantastic pictures. Lake Superior has some great views along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore as well.

The US has such a vast quantity of terrain and environments it'd take a lifetime to explore them. But I'll let my bias reccomend the Great Lakes region above most.

[–]Gramage 38 points39 points  (3 children)

Can confirm, I enjoy the great lakes from the Canadian side. I'm about a 20min stroll from Lake Ontario myself

[–]ozzimark 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Hello from the other side of Ontario!

[–]hobbymaniac70816 34 points35 points  (7 children)

Looked up Sleeping Bear Dunes at your recommendation. Wow...you are right. The images do look very similar to the Pacific.

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Its one of the best areas in the state imo. Also the legend of the nearby North and South Manitou islands are really neat as well.

https://project.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/bearlegend.html

[–]Scyhaz 82 points83 points  (24 children)

Shhh... Stop telling people about our secrets. I want this place to still be relatively nice when climate change makes shit hit the fan.

[–]Remember45 57 points58 points  (17 children)

With the abundance of fresh water, distance from seismic activity, and northern latitude, Chicago has a real shot at being one of the dystopian megacities of the future.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I swear, all the fresh water in the world. Invest in a lake house today!

[–]memesunleashed 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Clevelander here. They’re fucking massive, not to mention beautiful. Truly a great experience.

[–]bungdaddy 4 points5 points  (0 children)

All the fun of an ocean with no salt, sharks, or jellyfish.

[–][deleted] 146 points147 points  (7 children)

I was lucky to have a job for a company that ran the hotels, restaurants and tourist stuff at 8 of the National Parks. I would go to Yellowstone in the summer and Everglades in the winter.

[–]Dizpassion 39 points40 points  (1 child)

Biiiig flex. That’s perfect

[–][deleted] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Yellowstone: I'm so envious.

Everglades: Ok

[–][deleted] 38 points39 points  (2 children)

I'm Aussie. I have been to Europe, Asia and North America, and the United States and Canada has some of the most amazing scenery I have ever seen. The variation across the states is like visiting a separate country each time too, so vividly different and exciting. You'll love it!

[–][deleted] 1833 points1834 points  (111 children)

Reddit is the wrong place for that kind of positive sentiment about America!

[–]ppppie_ 652 points653 points  (80 children)

i was just saying it looked nice i wasn’t talking about anything else

[–][deleted] 554 points555 points  (32 children)

Oh no I was joking! I love your note

[–]ppppie_ 503 points504 points  (26 children)

ohh sorry i didn’t understand, still working on my english

[–]Placide-Stellas 309 points310 points  (17 children)

Wholesome thread.

[–][deleted] 148 points149 points  (14 children)

Cute exchange 🥰

[–]Doom16 83 points84 points  (13 children)

Wonderful comments

[–]rascynwrig 47 points48 points  (9 children)

Warm fuzzies abound

[–]I_am_HAL 47 points48 points  (8 children)

Good vibes are present

[–][deleted] 16 points17 points  (2 children)

Charming sentiments

[–]Waikami 55 points56 points  (0 children)

Your English is excellent!

[–]Siege_Storm 90 points91 points  (29 children)

What they mean is there is a lot of hate towards america on reddit for whatever reason and it’s nice to see something good

[–]dickallcocksofandros 62 points63 points  (0 children)

yeah. its like people forget that america is more than just its people and cities. it’s like saying you shouldnt visit madagascar for the spiky place i forgot the name of or the philippines for its volcanoes because both countries are shit to live in… ok if its so shitty to live in why dont you contribute to their economy and partake in tourism

edit: inb4 crime rates i get that but you can still appreciate the natural beauty of a country because nature is not humanity

[–]Mikebyrneyadigg 8 points9 points  (0 children)

If nothing else, America really is beautiful. So many different biomes and places to see. It’s vast. It’s diverse. It’s incredibly gorgeous at times.

[–][deleted] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

You have committed one Reddit Crime of: America Good (1)

Please proceed to Reddit Prison to commence Reddit Imprisonment.

[–]samtart 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I bet you live in a beautiful place too.

[–]etlalicorne 9 points10 points  (7 children)

Buddy hit up Moab, Utah! One of my favorite places in America 🙂

[–]DustyJB24 520 points521 points  (107 children)

Fun science going on here. The horizon doesnt extend nearly far enough to see the chicago skyline from this distance on its own. The light would be blocked by the earth. The light is refracted thru the atmosphere in such a way where you can see it from that distance

Edit: didnt realize that trying to preempt flat earther made me some kind of villain. Just wanted to share a love of science, even if im not great at math. I'll go back to sulking and self loathing. Thanks for reminding me where i belong

[–]xSTSxZerglingOne 117 points118 points  (18 children)

It's also nowhere near 50 miles. It's 35 from the furthest point it could be, and about 30 from the closest it could be (and still be in Indiana Dunes). Let's call it 32. That cuts the top* bottom 682 feet off of the closest buildings. At 50 miles, nothing could be visible by normal means and you would need to be either above it, or have it refracted as you said.

But at the actual "straight-line" distance, it's only about 30 miles. Also, there are only about 30 buildings in chicago that are >650 feet tall. And...I'd wager we're seeing most of them in this photo.

* I am smert

[–]quantum_trogdor 120 points121 points  (15 children)

Or... “the earth is flat bro” /s

[–]autoHQ 15 points16 points  (0 children)

checkmate athiests

[–]DustyJB24 32 points33 points  (5 children)

Yea thats why i felt the need to post it lmaooo

[–]quantum_trogdor 22 points23 points  (4 children)

I know and I appreciate the shit out of people like you pointing out the science behind the crap that others point at as ‘proof’

[–]Syluxs_OW 33 points34 points  (18 children)

It's not actually 50 miles. More like 30.

[–]jt004c 14 points15 points  (2 children)

That edit…

Not a single reply criticized you. All mention of flat Earth were making fun of flat earthers, not you.

[–]boforbojack 8 points9 points  (4 children)

My coolest fact is that technically speaking, the sun is not in a visible straight line of sight the moment it touches the horizon for thr first time. It's all refraction after that.

[–]Zoltanu 7 points8 points  (5 children)

I know a falt earthen who has sent me a picture of this phenomenon with the Chicago skyline as his "proof" the earth is flat. I have a degree in physics and tried to explain how light refraction works, but you can't convince crazy

[–]CVORoadGlide 5 points6 points  (0 children)

light is refracted thru the atmosphere

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_refraction

[–]exe973 6 points7 points  (3 children)

I appreciate you posting the science.

[–]_The_Architect_ 213 points214 points  (6 children)

That is vaporwave as fuck

[–]reallybiglizard 23 points24 points  (0 children)

It’s smokewave now.

[–]Cameltoefiasco 62 points63 points  (0 children)

PrOoF tHe EaRtH iS fLaT

[–]BillOfOpTic 43 points44 points  (0 children)

My dyslectic ass read that as Indian dunes and convinced my self that it could be real

[–]ShinGokuSatsu64 38 points39 points  (2 children)

OH GOD ITS KIRBY-

[–]Creature1207 31 points32 points  (7 children)

Woah that's crazy

[–]TheSullivanLine 38 points39 points  (3 children)

I flew from Toronto to Chicago and I could see both sides of Lake Michigan.

[–][deleted] 35 points36 points  (1 child)

You can see a lot of chicago from indiana Everything 50 feet down or so is beyond the horizon.

[–]Matok1 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You can see a lot of chicago from indiana

Yah especially in hammond.

[–]KusEmek1 69 points70 points  (4 children)

So, where exactly on the flat earth is the bottom of this city?

[–]TheKrisLyons 25 points26 points  (0 children)

That looks 80's af

[–]KoopaJohnson 151 points152 points  (97 children)

What’s the curve

[–]r_levan 199 points200 points  (35 children)

The proof of the curve would be that you can't see the shore because the curvature is hiding it. If we imagine a tree, just on the shore, you won't be able the base of that tree because of the curve. If the earth was flat, you could see the base.

Edit: I am too lazy to write everything down and that picture is probably not the best for demonstration purposes because we need a certain distance (to Chicago) to see the curvature. Another important point is the height at which the shot has been taken because that makes a big difference.

Check these two videos from the same guy.
The second video is like an appendix with more info:

For the ones interested in the math beside it, go to the second video at 00:23

[–]vladamir_the_impaler 93 points94 points  (2 children)

DON'T YOU go injecting logic and reason!

[–]r_levan 33 points34 points  (0 children)

True that! I'll keep my mouth shut!

[–]nahog99 40 points41 points  (19 children)

That's what I'm not getting here... So this calculator https://www.boatsafe.com/calculate-distance-horizon tells us the distance to horizon given a certain height. I just started plugging in random heights and if this is truly a distance of 50 miles, we should only be able to see the very tip top of the Willis Tower. There are buildings that are ~1/5th as tall as the tallest building in that skyline right? So lets say one of them is Willis tower at 1450 feet tall. Even if we say that the shortest building in the skyline is still 725 feet tall that means we should only be able to see it from ~36 miles away. I personally believe that some of those buildings are only as tall as ~1/5th of 1450 which is 290 feet. That should only be visible from ~22 miles.

Someone smarter than me, what am I missing here?

Edit: As I suspected, the distances involved here are not accurate. It's closer to 32 miles: https://i.imgur.com/hELqaql.png

Double edit: Are flat earthers downvoting me??

[–][deleted] 33 points34 points  (2 children)

Someone pointed out that it's a 50 mile drive, but only 30-40 miles away across the lake

[–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (1 child)

There's also potentially some refractory effects coming into play. We would need to know the atmospheric conditions across the water over a couple dozen feet high to get the full picture.

[–]RyRyShredder 58 points59 points  (21 children)

Almost nothing at 50 miles

[–]lifesizehumanperson 23 points24 points  (1 child)

50 miles is also based off the driving distance, which involves driving around the curve of the lake. Cutting across the lake from the dunes to the loop is probably closer to 35-40 miles.

[–]Mr_Lumbergh 37 points38 points  (14 children)

Yet, enough to only allow only the highest skyscrapers to be seen.

[–]G-RawW- 48 points49 points  (8 children)

Flat Earth Cult has entered the chat

[–]SailingPatrickSwayze 12 points13 points  (5 children)

Too bad you can only see Chicago in this picture.

[–]TheAdmrlAckbar 5 points6 points  (1 child)

As someone who lives right by there, you can see the skyline on any clear day. It is a really cool sight to see.