Located in Klamath County, Oregon, Pelican Butte is a mountain peak at about 2,440 m (8,005 ft) above sea level. The nearest town is Klamath Falls, about 44 km (27 mi) away (Pelican Butte lies NW of town).
Pelican Butte is a steep-sided shield volcano in the Cascade Range of southern Oregon, United States. It is located 28 mi (45 km) due south of Crater Lake and 12 mi (19 km) northeast of Mount McLoughlin. Pelican Butte is the most prominent shield volcano in the southern Oregon Cascades and has a large volume at 4.8 cu mi (20 km3), making it one of the bigger Quaternary volcanoes in the region, approaching the size of some of the range's stratovolcanoes. While still part of the Cascades, Pelican Butte is disconnected from the main axis, forming above faults along the eastern border of the range. Pelican Butte is part of the Quaternary Mount McLoughlin Reach, a volcanic vent zone that runs from the volcano to Aspen Lake, encompassing 33 vents over an area of 357 sq mi (925 km2). Ice age glaciers carved a large cirque into the northeast flank of the mountain, but despite this erosion,...From the Wikipedia article “Pelican Butte”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Pelican Butte the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 57° (ENE) at the June solstice and 122° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 304° (WNW) in June to 238° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 71° in summer but only 24° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:13 AM | 90° E | 7:21 PM | 271° W | 47° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:32 AM | 57° ENE | 8:50 PM | 304° WNW | 71° | 15h 18m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:57 AM | 89° E | 7:08 PM | 271° W | 48° | 12h 11m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:36 AM | 122° ESE | 4:39 PM | 238° WSW | 24° | 9h 03m |
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 | 7:36 AM | 8:20 AM | 4:17 PM | 5:01 PM | 5:32 PM | 9h 25m |
| February | 6:37 AM | 7:06 AM | 7:46 AM | 5:02 PM | 5:41 PM | 6:10 PM | 10h 35m |
| March | 6:53 AM | 7:21 AM | 7:59 AM | 6:38 PM | 7:15 PM | 7:43 PM | 11h 54m |
| April | 5:59 AM | 6:28 AM | 7:06 AM | 7:13 PM | 7:50 PM | 8:20 PM | 13h 22m |
| May | 5:15 AM | 5:48 AM | 6:28 AM | 7:44 PM | 8:24 PM | 8:56 PM | 14h 37m |
| June | 4:57 AM | 5:31 AM | 6:14 AM | 8:06 PM | 8:48 PM | 9:23 PM | 15h 17m |
| July | 5:12 AM | 5:45 AM | 6:27 AM | 8:03 PM | 8:45 PM | 9:19 PM | 15h 00m |
| August | 5:46 AM | 6:16 AM | 6:55 AM | 7:33 PM | 8:12 PM | 8:42 PM | 13h 55m |
| September | 6:21 AM | 6:49 AM | 7:26 AM | 6:43 PM | 7:20 PM | 7:48 PM | 12h 31m |
| October | 6:54 AM | 7:22 AM | 8:00 AM | 5:50 PM | 6:28 PM | 6:56 PM | 11h 06m |
| November | 6:30 AM | 7:01 AM | 7:43 AM | 4:05 PM | 4:48 PM | 5:18 PM | 9h 47m |
| December | 7:00 AM | 7:32 AM | 8:18 AM | 3:52 PM | 4:37 PM | 5:09 PM | 9h 05m |
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 Pelican Butte, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 4.2 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 19° 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 | — | -3° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 9° | — |
| March | 4:50 AM – 5:40 AM | 0.8 | 15° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 2:43 AM – 4:43 AM | 2.0 | 18° | SE → S |
| May | 12:53 AM – 3:43 AM | 2.8 | 19° | SSE → S |
| June | 11:04 PM – 3:14 AM | 4.2 | 19° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 10:52 PM – 1:52 AM | 3.0 | 19° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:00 PM – 11:50 PM | 1.8 | 18° | S → SSW |
| September | 8:56 PM – 9:46 PM | 0.8 | 15° | SSW → SSW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 9° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -2° | — |
| 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 ≈ 21.84 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 7.0+ 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 19% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (73%). 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 | 61 | 69 | 80 | 92 | 101 | 102 | 104 | 101 | 90 | 76 | 57 |
| Low °F | -2 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 23 | 28 | 37 | 35 | 29 | 23 | 4 | 1 |
| Precip. (in) | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 4.7 | 6.5 |
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
- 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.
- Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer at high elevations — plan summit hikes for early morning.
- Snow on the summit holds detail best when you expose for the highlights and lift shadows later.
- Check road and trail conditions with the managing agency before you go.
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 Pelican Butte, closest first.
National Wildlife Refuge
Lake
Wilderness Area
Lake
Mountain Peak
Wilderness AreaCampgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
- Fourmile Lake Campground9.9 km (6.1 mi) · reservable
- Aspen Point (Lake Of The Woods, Or)15.3 km (9.5 mi) · reservable
- Rainbow Bay16.0 km (9.9 mi) · reservable
- Sunset - Lake Of The Woods (Or)16.3 km (10.1 mi) · reservable
- Fish Lake Campground - Rogue River19.4 km (12.0 mi) · reservable
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Pelican Butte?
What time is golden hour at Pelican Butte?
Where does the sun rise and set at Pelican Butte?
Can you see the Milky Way from Pelican Butte?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Pelican Butte?
How far is Pelican Butte from Klamath Falls?
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.