Mount Bona — a mountain peak in Copper River Census Area, Alaska at about 4,986 m (16,358 ft) above sea level — is a rewarding subject for landscape photographers. It is part of Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve.
Mount Bona is one of the major mountains of the Saint Elias Mountains in eastern Alaska, and is the fifth-highest independent peak in the United States. It is either the tenth- or eleventh-highest peak in North America. Mount Bona and its adjacent neighbor Mount Churchill are both large ice-covered stratovolcanoes. Bona has the distinction of being the highest volcano in the United States and the fourth-highest in North America, outranked only by the three highest Mexican volcanoes, Pico de Orizaba, Popocatépetl, and Iztaccíhuatl. Its summit is a small stratovolcano on top of a high platform of sedimentary rocks. The mountain's massif is covered almost entirely by icefields and glaciers, and it is the principal source of ice for the Klutlan Glacier, which flows east for over 40 miles (64 km) into the Yukon Territory of Canada. The mountain also contributes a large volume of ice to...From the Wikipedia article “Mount Bona”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Mount Bona the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 31° (NNE) at the June solstice and 144° (SE) in late December. Sunset moves from 329° (NNW) in June to 217° (SW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 52° in summer but only 5° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:29 AM | 89° E | 7:42 PM | 272° W | 29° | 12h 13m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 3:46 AM | 31° NNE | 11:13 PM | 329° NNW | 52° | 19h 27m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:12 AM | 88° E | 7:29 PM | 272° W | 29° | 12h 17m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 9:44 AM | 144° SE | 3:07 PM | 217° SW | 5° | 5h 23m |
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
Summits catch first and last light — alpenglow can turn rock pink or orange minutes before sunrise and after sunset while valleys stay in shadow.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8:30 AM | 9:27 AM | 11:18 AM | 1:57 PM | 3:48 PM | 4:44 PM | 6h 21m |
| February | 7:25 AM | 8:11 AM | 9:19 AM | 4:05 PM | 5:13 PM | 5:59 PM | 9h 02m |
| March | 7:02 AM | 7:45 AM | 8:43 AM | 6:31 PM | 7:29 PM | 8:12 PM | 11h 44m |
| April | 5:17 AM | 6:06 AM | 7:05 AM | 7:50 PM | 8:49 PM | 9:38 PM | 14h 44m |
| May | 3:27 AM | 4:39 AM | 5:50 AM | 8:58 PM | 10:10 PM | 11:21 PM | 17h 31m |
| June | — | 3:47 AM | 5:14 AM | 9:43 PM | 11:10 PM | — | 19h 23m |
| July | 2:42 AM | 4:18 AM | 5:37 AM | 9:30 PM | 10:49 PM | 12:26 AM | 18h 32m |
| August | 4:41 AM | 5:36 AM | 6:39 AM | 8:26 PM | 9:29 PM | 10:24 PM | 15h 53m |
| September | 6:10 AM | 6:54 AM | 7:52 AM | 6:54 PM | 7:52 PM | 8:36 PM | 12h 57m |
| October | 7:26 AM | 8:10 AM | 9:13 AM | 5:14 PM | 6:16 PM | 7:00 PM | 10h 06m |
| November | 7:43 AM | 8:35 AM | 10:03 AM | 2:22 PM | 3:50 PM | 4:42 PM | 7h 15m |
| December | 8:37 AM | 9:39 AM | — | — | 3:07 PM | 4:09 PM | 5h 27m |
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 | — | -12° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | -7° | — |
| March | Below 10° in darkness | — | -5° | — |
| April | Below 10° in darkness | — | -10° | — |
| May | No darkness | — | — | — |
| June | No darkness | — | — | — |
| July | No darkness | — | — | — |
| August | Below 10° in darkness | — | -5° | — |
| September | Below 10° in darkness | — | -8° | — |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | -8° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -12° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -22° | — |
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 62% average cloud cover) and June as the cloudiest (84%). July is the warmest month and January 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 | 34 | 29 | 35 | 42 | 45 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 44 | 43 | 31 | 29 |
| Low °F | -46 | -46 | -51 | -23 | -4 | 13 | 17 | 11 | 3 | -21 | -34 | -39 |
| Precip. (in) | 3.0 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 5.5 | 6.8 | 6.9 | 6.2 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 3.4 |
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 mountain peak
- Alpenglow lasts only a few minutes; set up and focus beforehand.
- Clouds around the summit add drama — a clear blue sky is often the least interesting condition.
- Photograph the peak from a lake, meadow or ridge at sunrise when the face that looks east lights up first.
- Long lenses compress ridgelines; shoot the peak from several miles away to make it look massive.
- Scout in daylight if you plan to shoot at night or before sunrise.
Season: Early summer keeps snow on the peaks with green valleys below; autumn adds aspen or larch color in many ranges.
Suggested gear: Telephoto lens, Lightweight tripod, Warm layers, Microspikes in shoulder seasons. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Mount Bona, closest first.
Mountain Peak
Mountain Peak
Mountain Peak
Wilderness Area
GlacierFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Mount Bona?
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Where does the sun rise and set at Mount Bona?
Can you see the Milky Way from Mount Bona?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Mount Bona?
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.