Agathla Peak is a mountain peak in Navajo County, Arizona at about 2,108 m (6,916 ft) above sea level. It sits roughly 11.3 km (7.0 mi) NNE of Kayenta.
Agathla Peak or Agathlan (Navajo: Aghaałą́, Spanish: El Capitan) is a peak south of Monument Valley, Arizona, which rises over 1,500 feet (460 meters) above the surrounding terrain. It is 7 miles (11 km) north of Kayenta and is visible from U.S. Route 163. The English designation Agathla is derived from the Navajo name aghaałą́ meaning 'much wool', apparently for the fur of antelope and deer accumulating on the rock. The mountain is considered sacred by the Navajo. Agathla Peak is an eroded volcanic plug consisting of volcanic breccia cut by dikes of an unusual igneous rock called minette. It is one of many such volcanic diatremes that are found in Navajo country of northeast Arizona and northwest New Mexico. Agathla Peak and Shiprock in New Mexico are the most prominent. These rocks are part of the Navajo Volcanic Field, in the southern Colorado Plateau. Ages of these minettes and...From the Wikipedia article “Agathla Peak”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Agathla Peak the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 60° (ENE) at the June solstice and 119° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 301° (WNW) in June to 241° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 77° in summer but only 30° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:25 AM | 90° E | 7:33 PM | 271° W | 53° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 6:03 AM | 60° ENE | 8:44 PM | 301° WNW | 77° | 14h 41m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:10 AM | 89° E | 7:19 PM | 271° W | 53° | 12h 10m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:31 AM | 119° ESE | 5:09 PM | 241° WSW | 30° | 9h 38m |
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 | 7:05 AM | 7:33 AM | 8:13 AM | 4:49 PM | 5:28 PM | 5:57 PM | 9h 55m |
| February | 6:44 AM | 7:10 AM | 7:46 AM | 5:26 PM | 6:02 PM | 6:28 PM | 10h 51m |
| March | 7:07 AM | 7:33 AM | 8:07 AM | 6:54 PM | 7:29 PM | 7:54 PM | 11h 56m |
| April | 6:21 AM | 6:47 AM | 7:22 AM | 7:21 PM | 7:56 PM | 8:22 PM | 13h 08m |
| May | 5:45 AM | 6:14 AM | 6:51 AM | 7:45 PM | 8:22 PM | 8:51 PM | 14h 08m |
| June | 5:31 AM | 6:02 AM | 6:41 AM | 8:04 PM | 8:42 PM | 9:13 PM | 14h 40m |
| July | 5:44 AM | 6:14 AM | 6:52 AM | 8:03 PM | 8:41 PM | 9:11 PM | 14h 27m |
| August | 6:11 AM | 6:39 AM | 7:14 AM | 7:38 PM | 8:14 PM | 8:41 PM | 13h 35m |
| September | 6:38 AM | 7:04 AM | 7:38 AM | 6:56 PM | 7:30 PM | 7:56 PM | 12h 26m |
| October | 7:03 AM | 7:29 AM | 8:04 AM | 6:11 PM | 6:46 PM | 7:12 PM | 11h 17m |
| November | 6:32 AM | 7:00 AM | 7:38 AM | 4:35 PM | 5:13 PM | 5:40 PM | 10h 13m |
| December | 6:58 AM | 7:27 AM | 8:08 AM | 4:26 PM | 5:07 PM | 5:35 PM | 9h 39m |
Local time (America/Denver), 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
From Agathla Peak, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from February through October. June gives the longest window (about 5.5 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 24° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 2 (typical truly dark site), which is excellent for astrophotography.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | 0° | — |
| February | 5:09 AM – 5:39 AM | 0.5 | 14° | SE → SE |
| March | 4:25 AM – 6:05 AM | 1.7 | 21° | SE → SSE |
| April | 2:17 AM – 5:07 AM | 2.8 | 24° | SE → S |
| May | 12:24 AM – 4:24 AM | 4.0 | 24° | SE → SSW |
| June | 10:34 PM – 4:04 AM | 5.5 | 24° | SE → SW |
| July | 10:28 PM – 2:38 AM | 4.2 | 24° | SSE → SW |
| August | 9:49 PM – 12:39 AM | 2.8 | 24° | S → SW |
| September | 8:58 PM – 10:38 PM | 1.7 | 21° | SSW → SW |
| October | 8:12 PM – 8:42 PM | 0.5 | 14° | SW → SW |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | 1° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -19° | — |
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: 2 Bortle 2 — Typical truly dark site. The summer Milky Way shows rich structure; clouds look like black holes in the stars. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.82 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show June as the clearest month (about 27% average cloud cover) and July as the cloudiest (50%). July is the warmest month and December 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 | 60 | 66 | 77 | 84 | 94 | 101 | 101 | 99 | 96 | 85 | 76 | 61 |
| Low °F | -1 | -4 | 11 | 18 | 23 | 35 | 51 | 49 | 31 | 12 | 10 | 4 |
| Precip. (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.7 |
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.
- Tell someone where you're going in remote areas and carry the ten essentials.
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 Agathla Peak, closest first.
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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.