### L528 sighting land is easier from land than from the sea > Knowledge of islands visible at a distance starts on land, where conditions would often have been good enough to make the presence of neighboring islands a matter of familiarity. Circumstances are different at sea. Under ideal conditions, someone in a canoe can see as far as the curvature of the earth will permit, allowing for light refraction by the atmosphere. But cloud, haze, spume, and other phenomena can obscure the horizon even on days when visibility is excellent, making the sighting of land from the ocean much harder. - [[Beyond the Blue Horizon by Brian Fagan#L528 sighting land is easier from land than from the sea|View in Vault]]