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Houston → Anchorage

IAH–ANC · George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport

Best bet

Right side

Strong betOne side has clearly more to look at.

Mount Fairweather is the main event, and it has company: 6 more worth looking at out the right.

Flight paths move around. Treat this as the better bet, not a promise.

What you might see

In flight order, with distance measured from the representative route.

IAH to ANC: where each landmark sits relative to the routeA diagram of the representative route running left to right, with the departure airport at the left and the arrival airport at the right. Landmarks on the left side of the aircraft are plotted above the route line and landmarks on the right side below it, each at its distance from the route. The numbered list below this diagram carries the same information as text.IAHANCLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678910
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 70 miles); the shaded ends are the 40-mile zones around each airport where the runway in use decides the view. Numbers match the list below. Hollow markers didn't count toward the recommendation.

  1. Flathead Lake

    LeftHalfway30 mi off the route

    Flathead Lake is about 30 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  2. Glacier National Park

    RightHalfway21 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Glacier National Park sits roughly 21 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  3. Glacier Bay

    RightThree quarters18 mi off the route

    Look right about three quarters of the way for Glacier Bay, about 18 miles out.

    Good possibility

  4. Mount Fairweather

    RightNear the end9 mi off the route

    Mount Fairweather is about 9 miles off the right, late in the flight.

    Strong candidate

  5. the Malaspina Glacier

    RightNear the end27 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, the Malaspina Glacier sits roughly 27 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  6. Mount Logan

    RightNear the end70 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for Mount Logan, about 70 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Mount Saint Elias

    RightNear the end45 mi off the route

    Mount Saint Elias is about 45 miles off the right, late in the flight.

    Good possibility

  8. Prince William Sound

    LeftNear the end10 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Prince William Sound sits roughly 10 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  9. the Chugach Mountains

    RightNear the end38 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for the Chugach Mountains, about 38 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  10. Turnagain Arm

    LeftNear the end11 mi off the route

    Whether Turnagain Arm appears comes down to how you come into ANC, which is not something we can know in advance.

    Runway dependent

The sun

Flying soon? Add your date and departure time and we'll work out where the sun should be, and which side gets less of it.

Airport codes or city names. SEA, Seattle, and Seattle-Tacoma all work.

Skip the date and you still get the landmark answer. Add it and we work out where the sun will be, using the departure airport's local time.

The route we used

3,261 mi
Great-circle distance
328°
Course out of IAH
286°
Course into ANC
9
Landmarks that counted

That is the shortest path between the two airports, used as a representative corridor rather than a flight plan. The first and last 40 miles are treated as uncertain, because that part of the flight is shaped by the runway in use and the published departure or arrival procedure. Anything in those zones is listed and marked, never counted toward the recommendation.

Left and right, from where?

Left and right are from your perspective sitting in the cabin, facing the front of the aircraft. Seat letters are not a reliable guide to which side you are on, because aircraft are configured differently.

Why this isn't guaranteed

Flights don't follow the same path every day. Runway configuration, weather deviations, traffic, and air traffic control all move the track around, and none of it is knowable in advance. We also have nothing to say about cloud cover, which is the other thing standing between you and Mount Rainier. The full method.

Flying the other way?

Anchorage → HoustonLeft side

Calculated from scratch, not by flipping this one. The landmarks arrive in the opposite order, the sun is somewhere else entirely, and the answer changes with them.

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