Lituya Glacier is a glacier in Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska at about 877 m (2,877 ft) above sea level. It is part of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. It sits roughly 182 km (113 mi) WNW of Juneau.
Lituya Glacier is a tidewater glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located at 58°43′25″N 137°29′33″W inside Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, its source is in the Fairweather Range and it feeds into Lituya Bay on the gulf coast of Southeast Alaska. It played a significant role in the 1958 Lituya Bay megatsunami. Over time, the glacier’s movement and retreat carved Lituya Bay into a distinctive geographic formation characterized by steep walls, a very deep submerged bottom, and a very narrow conditions opportunity for a megatsunami to occur. The glacier is also the namesake of the Alaska Marine Highway ferry M/V Lituya.From the Wikipedia article “Lituya Glacier”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Lituya Glacier the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 38° (NE) at the June solstice and 138° (SE) in late December. Sunset moves from 322° (NW) in June to 222° (SW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 55° in summer but only 8° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:12 AM | 89° E | 7:24 PM | 272° W | 31° | 12h 12m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 4:00 AM | 38° NE | 10:25 PM | 322° NW | 55° | 18h 25m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:55 AM | 88° E | 7:11 PM | 272° W | 31° | 12h 16m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 9:01 AM | 138° SE | 3:16 PM | 222° SW | 8° | 6h 15m |
Azimuth is measured clockwise from true north (90° = east, 270° = west). Computed for 2026; values change by less than a degree from year to year.
Golden hour & blue hour by month
Ice shows its blue best under overcast skies or in shade; bright sun turns glaciers white and flat.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:59 AM | 8:49 AM | 10:13 AM | 2:27 PM | 3:51 PM | 4:41 PM | 7h 02m |
| February | 7:02 AM | 7:44 AM | 8:45 AM | 4:05 PM | 5:05 PM | 5:48 PM | 9h 21m |
| March | 6:47 AM | 7:27 AM | 8:20 AM | 6:19 PM | 7:12 PM | 7:52 PM | 11h 46m |
| April | 5:13 AM | 5:57 AM | 6:52 AM | 7:29 PM | 8:24 PM | 9:08 PM | 14h 27m |
| May | 3:43 AM | 4:41 AM | 5:45 AM | 8:29 PM | 9:33 PM | 10:31 PM | 16h 52m |
| June | 2:38 AM | 4:00 AM | 5:14 AM | 9:09 PM | 10:22 PM | 11:44 PM | 18h 22m |
| July | 3:17 AM | 4:25 AM | 5:34 AM | 8:59 PM | 10:07 PM | 11:16 PM | 17h 42m |
| August | 4:43 AM | 5:31 AM | 6:28 AM | 8:02 PM | 8:59 PM | 9:48 PM | 15h 28m |
| September | 5:59 AM | 6:40 AM | 7:33 AM | 6:39 PM | 7:32 PM | 8:12 PM | 12h 52m |
| October | 7:07 AM | 7:47 AM | 8:44 AM | 5:08 PM | 6:05 PM | 6:46 PM | 10h 18m |
| November | 7:15 AM | 8:01 AM | 9:15 AM | 2:36 PM | 3:49 PM | 4:36 PM | 7h 48m |
| December | 8:03 AM | 8:57 AM | 10:38 AM | 1:33 PM | 3:15 PM | 4:09 PM | 6h 18m |
Local time (America/Juneau), including daylight saving time. Golden hour runs from about −4° to +6° solar altitude, so the morning golden hour begins during blue hour, before sunrise.
Milky Way & night sky
The Milky Way's bright core (in Sagittarius) barely clears the southern horizon at this latitude, so focus on winter Milky Way, aurora or star trails instead.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -11° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | -5° | — |
| March | Below 10° in darkness | — | -2° | — |
| April | Below 10° in darkness | — | -3° | — |
| May | Below 10° in darkness | — | -1° | — |
| June | No darkness | — | — | — |
| July | No darkness | — | — | — |
| August | Below 10° in darkness | — | 0° | — |
| September | Below 10° in darkness | — | -4° | — |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | -5° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -10° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -21° | — |
Window when the galactic core is at least 10° high during astronomical darkness on the 15th of each month. Pick nights within a few days of the new moon. Plan exact nights with the Milky Way planner.
Estimated sky darkness: 1 Bortle 1 — Excellent dark-sky site. The Milky Way casts faint shadows; zodiacal light and airglow are obvious. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.95 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 0.5+ to show low on the northern horizon here.
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show April as the clearest month (about 74% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (81%). August is the warmest month and March the coldest, which matters for gear, snow access and how long batteries last at night.
Average cloud cover (%)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °F | 43 | 41 | 44 | 47 | 54 | 68 | 69 | 68 | 60 | 51 | 46 | 42 |
| Low °F | -3 | 0 | -2 | 15 | 28 | 35 | 40 | 43 | 37 | 21 | 5 | -1 |
| Precip. (in) | 17.8 | 14.5 | 11.6 | 10.8 | 9.2 | 7.1 | 8.7 | 13.2 | 18.8 | 20.2 | 19.7 | 20.0 |
Monthly climatology for the surrounding 1° grid cell from NASA POWER (MERRA-2). Mountain sites can be colder and cloudier than the cell average.
Photography tips for this glacier
- Boat tours to tidewater glaciers offer calving shots; use fast shutter speeds and a telephoto.
- Never walk on a glacier without training and gear; crevasses hide under snow bridges.
- Expose carefully: ice and snow fool meters into underexposure, so add +1 to +2 stops.
- A polarizer deepens the blue of glacial ice and the turquoise of meltwater lakes.
- Include a person or boat for scale — glaciers are much larger than they look.
- Shoot RAW to keep the most latitude for high-contrast sunrise and sunset scenes.
Season: Summer offers access; late summer exposes the most bare ice before new snow.
Suggested gear: Telephoto lens, Polarizer, Waterproof shell, Spare batteries (cold drains them). Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Lituya Glacier, closest first.
Mountain Peak
Mountain Peak
Mountain Peak
Glacier
Glacier
Mountain Peak
Lighthouse
Mountain Peak
Mountain PeakFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Lituya Glacier?
What time is golden hour at Lituya Glacier?
Where does the sun rise and set at Lituya Glacier?
Can you see the Milky Way from Lituya Glacier?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Lituya Glacier?
How far is Lituya Glacier from Juneau?
Sources
Location data: Wikidata, USGS GNIS / GeoNames, Wikipedia. Sun, moon and Milky Way times are computed by LWPhoto Atlas for 2026. Climate: NASA POWER. Sky darkness is a population-based estimate (Walker's law), not a measurement. See data sources & licenses.