Brushy Butte is a mountain peak in Shasta County, California at about 1,157 m (3,796 ft) above sea level. The nearest town is Burney, about 38 km (23 mi) away (Brushy Butte lies NNE of town).
Brushy Butte is a small, poorly studied, shield volcano located immediately east of Timbered Crater, south-southeast of the Medicine Lake Highlands in northern California, U.S. (near where Siskiyou County, California is adjacent to Shasta County, California). This volcano is considered to have formed soil development and a degree of revegetation similar to that of Hat Creek flow. There is no current information on any Holocene eruptions from Brushy Butte, the last known eruption for the Brushy Butte was in the Pleistocene age, and the eruption was considered to be over 10-20 years, this was found based on the different lava flow landforms created and their placement around the interior of the volcano.. Brushy Butte is located in a rifting area and the type of magma that erupted is called tholeiitic basalt; a type of lava that is dark and it contains 45 to 53 percent of silica, rich...From the Wikipedia article “Brushy Butte”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Brushy Butte the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 57° (ENE) at the June solstice and 121° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 303° (WNW) in June to 239° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 72° in summer but only 25° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:10 AM | 90° E | 7:18 PM | 271° W | 49° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:34 AM | 57° ENE | 8:43 PM | 303° WNW | 72° | 15h 09m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:54 AM | 89° E | 7:05 PM | 271° W | 49° | 12h 11m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:29 AM | 121° ESE | 4:41 PM | 239° WSW | 25° | 9h 12m |
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 | 6:59 AM | 7:30 AM | 8:12 AM | 4:19 PM | 5:02 PM | 5:32 PM | 9h 32m |
| February | 6:33 AM | 7:01 AM | 7:40 AM | 5:02 PM | 5:40 PM | 6:09 PM | 10h 39m |
| March | 6:51 AM | 7:18 AM | 7:55 AM | 6:36 PM | 7:13 PM | 7:40 PM | 11h 54m |
| April | 5:58 AM | 6:27 AM | 7:04 AM | 7:09 PM | 7:46 PM | 8:14 PM | 13h 19m |
| May | 5:17 AM | 5:48 AM | 6:28 AM | 7:38 PM | 8:18 PM | 8:49 PM | 14h 29m |
| June | 5:00 AM | 5:33 AM | 6:15 AM | 7:59 PM | 8:41 PM | 9:15 PM | 15h 08m |
| July | 5:14 AM | 5:47 AM | 6:27 AM | 7:57 PM | 8:38 PM | 9:11 PM | 14h 51m |
| August | 5:46 AM | 6:16 AM | 6:54 AM | 7:28 PM | 8:06 PM | 8:36 PM | 13h 50m |
| September | 6:19 AM | 6:47 AM | 7:23 AM | 6:40 PM | 7:17 PM | 7:44 PM | 12h 30m |
| October | 6:50 AM | 7:18 AM | 7:55 AM | 5:49 PM | 6:26 PM | 6:54 PM | 11h 08m |
| November | 6:25 AM | 6:55 AM | 7:36 AM | 4:07 PM | 4:48 PM | 5:18 PM | 9h 53m |
| December | 6:54 AM | 7:25 AM | 8:09 AM | 3:54 PM | 4:39 PM | 5:10 PM | 9h 14m |
Local time (America/Los Angeles), 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 Brushy Butte, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 4.5 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 20° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 1 (excellent dark-sky site), which is excellent for astrophotography.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -2° | — |
| February | 5:23 AM – 5:23 AM | 0.0 | 10° | SE → SE |
| March | 4:35 AM – 5:35 AM | 1.0 | 16° | SE → SSE |
| April | 2:35 AM – 4:45 AM | 2.2 | 19° | SE → S |
| May | 12:32 AM – 3:52 AM | 3.3 | 20° | SE → S |
| June | 10:50 PM – 3:20 AM | 4.5 | 20° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 10:40 PM – 2:00 AM | 3.3 | 20° | S → SW |
| August | 9:51 PM – 11:51 PM | 2.0 | 19° | S → SW |
| September | 8:51 PM – 9:51 PM | 1.0 | 16° | SSW → SW |
| October | 7:58 PM – 7:58 PM | 0.0 | 10° | 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: 1 Bortle 1 — Excellent dark-sky site. The Milky Way casts faint shadows; zodiacal light and airglow are obvious. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.91 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 8.0+ to show low on the northern horizon here.
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show July as the clearest month (about 18% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (66%). 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 | 63 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 89 | 98 | 103 | 100 | 98 | 90 | 76 | 57 |
| Low °F | -11 | -2 | 9 | 10 | 22 | 29 | 39 | 39 | 29 | 19 | 0 | -4 |
| Precip. (in) | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 5.0 |
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 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.
- 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 Brushy Butte, closest first.
Volcano
State Park
Hot Spring
WaterfallWaterfallHot Spring
State ParkCampgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Brushy Butte?
What time is golden hour at Brushy Butte?
Where does the sun rise and set at Brushy Butte?
Can you see the Milky Way from Brushy Butte?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Brushy Butte?
How far is Brushy Butte from Burney?
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.