Novarupta is a mountain peak in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. It is part of Katmai National Park and Preserve. It sits roughly 170 km (106 mi) WNW of Kodiak.
Novarupta is a volcano located on the Alaska Peninsula on a slope of Trident Volcano in Katmai National Park and Preserve, about 290 miles (470 km) southwest of Anchorage. Novarupta was formed in 1912, during the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, in which it released 30 times the volume of magma of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.From the Wikipedia article “Novarupta”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Novarupta the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 39° (NE) at the June solstice and 137° (SE) in late December. Sunset moves from 321° (NW) in June to 223° (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) | 8:23 AM | 89° E | 8:35 PM | 272° W | 32° | 12h 12m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:15 AM | 39° NE | 11:31 PM | 321° NW | 55° | 18h 16m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 8:06 AM | 88° E | 8:22 PM | 272° W | 32° | 12h 15m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 10:08 AM | 137° SE | 4:31 PM | 223° SW | 8° | 6h 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 | 9:08 AM | 9:56 AM | 11:18 AM | 3:44 PM | 5:05 PM | 5:54 PM | 7h 09m |
| February | 8:12 AM | 8:53 AM | 9:53 AM | 5:18 PM | 6:18 PM | 7:00 PM | 9h 25m |
| March | 7:58 AM | 8:37 AM | 9:30 AM | 7:31 PM | 8:24 PM | 9:03 PM | 11h 46m |
| April | 6:26 AM | 7:09 AM | 8:03 AM | 8:39 PM | 9:33 PM | 10:17 PM | 14h 24m |
| May | 4:58 AM | 5:55 AM | 6:57 AM | 9:39 PM | 10:41 PM | 11:37 PM | 16h 46m |
| June | 3:58 AM | 5:15 AM | 6:27 AM | 10:17 PM | 11:29 PM | 12:46 AM | 18h 13m |
| July | 4:34 AM | 5:40 AM | 6:47 AM | 10:07 PM | 11:14 PM | 12:20 AM | 17h 34m |
| August | 5:57 AM | 6:44 AM | 7:40 AM | 9:12 PM | 10:08 PM | 10:56 PM | 15h 24m |
| September | 7:11 AM | 7:51 AM | 8:43 AM | 7:50 PM | 8:42 PM | 9:22 PM | 12h 51m |
| October | 8:17 AM | 8:57 AM | 9:53 AM | 6:21 PM | 7:17 PM | 7:57 PM | 10h 20m |
| November | 8:24 AM | 9:10 AM | 10:21 AM | 3:51 PM | 5:03 PM | 5:48 PM | 7h 53m |
| December | 9:11 AM | 10:04 AM | 11:40 AM | 2:53 PM | 4:30 PM | 5:22 PM | 6h 26m |
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 | — | -4° | — |
| March | Below 10° in darkness | — | -1° | — |
| April | Below 10° in darkness | — | -2° | — |
| May | Below 10° in darkness | — | 1° | — |
| June | No darkness | — | — | — |
| July | No darkness | — | — | — |
| August | Below 10° in darkness | — | 1° | — |
| September | Below 10° in darkness | — | -3° | — |
| 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 2.0+ 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 65% average cloud cover) and July as the cloudiest (82%). 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 | 38 | 38 | 39 | 53 | 65 | 76 | 82 | 79 | 67 | 54 | 45 | 38 |
| Low °F | -40 | -36 | -25 | -8 | 11 | 32 | 38 | 34 | 23 | -6 | -24 | -32 |
| Precip. (in) | 3.6 | 3.7 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 5.7 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 4.1 |
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 mountain peak
- Snow on the summit holds detail best when you expose for the highlights and lift shadows later.
- 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.
- Shoot RAW to keep the most latitude for high-contrast sunrise and sunset scenes.
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 Novarupta, closest first.
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WaterfallWaterfallFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Novarupta?
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How far is Novarupta from Kodiak?
Sources
Location data: Wikidata, 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.