Tyndall Glacier is a glacier in Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska at about 467 m (1,532 ft) above sea level.
Tyndall Glacier is a valley/tidewater glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. The glacier lies immediately west of 141° West longitude, within the boundaries of the Wrangell–Saint Elias Wilderness, itself part of Wrangell–St. Elias National Park & Preserve, in the borough of Yakutat, Alaska. Named for John Tyndall (a 19th-century Irish physicist, natural philosopher, and glaciologist), Tyndall Glacier originates in the basin formed by the southwestern face of Mount Saint Elias (the second-tallest mountain in the United States and the fourth-tallest in North America), as well as Mount Huxley, The Hump, and Haydon Peak in the Saint Elias Mountains. From there it extends 19 kilometers, trending southwest and terminating in Taan Fjord, an arm of Icy Bay. Together with the Yahtse and Guyot glaciers, it once occupied the entirety of Icy Bay; as the glaciers have retreated the bay has opened...From the Wikipedia article “Tyndall Glacier (Alaska)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Tyndall Glacier the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 35° (NE) at the June solstice and 141° (SE) in late December. Sunset moves from 326° (NW) in June to 219° (SW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 53° in summer but only 6° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:27 AM | 89° E | 7:39 PM | 272° W | 30° | 12h 12m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 3:59 AM | 35° NE | 10:55 PM | 326° NW | 53° | 18h 57m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:10 AM | 88° E | 7:26 PM | 272° W | 30° | 12h 17m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 9:29 AM | 141° SE | 3:18 PM | 219° SW | 6° | 5h 48m |
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 | 8:21 AM | 9:14 AM | 10:50 AM | 2:19 PM | 3:55 PM | 4:48 PM | 6h 41m |
| February | 7:20 AM | 8:04 AM | 9:09 AM | 4:11 PM | 5:15 PM | 5:59 PM | 9h 11m |
| March | 7:00 AM | 7:42 AM | 8:38 AM | 6:31 PM | 7:27 PM | 8:08 PM | 11h 45m |
| April | 5:21 AM | 6:07 AM | 7:05 AM | 7:46 PM | 8:43 PM | 9:30 PM | 14h 36m |
| May | 3:41 AM | 4:46 AM | 5:53 AM | 8:50 PM | 9:58 PM | 11:03 PM | 17h 12m |
| June | 2:10 AM | 3:59 AM | 5:20 AM | 9:32 PM | 10:53 PM | 12:42 AM | 18h 53m |
| July | 3:07 AM | 4:27 AM | 5:41 AM | 9:21 PM | 10:35 PM | 11:55 PM | 18h 08m |
| August | 4:47 AM | 5:39 AM | 6:40 AM | 8:20 PM | 9:21 PM | 10:13 PM | 15h 42m |
| September | 6:11 AM | 6:53 AM | 7:48 AM | 6:53 PM | 7:48 PM | 8:31 PM | 12h 55m |
| October | 7:23 AM | 8:05 AM | 9:05 AM | 5:17 PM | 6:17 PM | 6:59 PM | 10h 12m |
| November | 7:35 AM | 8:25 AM | 9:45 AM | 2:35 PM | 3:55 PM | 4:45 PM | 7h 30m |
| December | 8:27 AM | 9:25 AM | 11:35 AM | 1:06 PM | 3:17 PM | 4:15 PM | 5h 52m |
Local time (America/Anchorage), 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 | — | -6° | — |
| March | Below 10° in darkness | — | -4° | — |
| April | Below 10° in darkness | — | -7° | — |
| May | No darkness | — | — | — |
| June | No darkness | — | — | — |
| July | No darkness | — | — | — |
| August | Below 10° in darkness | — | -2° | — |
| September | Below 10° in darkness | — | -6° | — |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | -7° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -11° | — |
| 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 0.0+ to show low on the northern horizon here.
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show March as the clearest month (about 64% average cloud cover) and August as the cloudiest (87%). July 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 | 28 | 25 | 36 | 41 | 41 | 48 | 48 | 48 | 41 | 38 | 31 | 26 |
| Low °F | -28 | -28 | -33 | -18 | -3 | 12 | 19 | 15 | 5 | -17 | -21 | -27 |
| Precip. (in) | 9.5 | 8.4 | 6.6 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 8.6 | 12.4 | 11.8 | 10.8 | 11.1 |
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
- 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.
- 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.
- Check road and trail conditions with the managing agency before you go.
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 Tyndall Glacier, closest first.
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Tyndall Glacier?
What time is golden hour at Tyndall Glacier?
Where does the sun rise and set at Tyndall Glacier?
Can you see the Milky Way from Tyndall Glacier?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Tyndall Glacier?
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.