Rattlesnake Mountain is a mountain peak in Benton County, Washington at about 1,076 m (3,530 ft) above sea level. It sits roughly 18.4 km (11.4 mi) NNW of Benton City.
Rattlesnake Mountain (Native American name Lalíik meaning "land above the water") is a 3,531 ft (1,060 m) windswept treeless ridge overlooking the Hanford nuclear site. Parts of the western slope are privately owned ranchland, while the eastern slope is under the federal protection of the Arid Lands Ecology Reserve, a unit of the Hanford Reach National Monument, managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The mountain is the second highest point in Benton County, with its neighbor Lookout Summit surpassing it by only 98 ft (30 m). Rattlesnake Mountain is notable for its high wind speeds, with the highest recorded being around 150 mph (241 kilometers per hour).From the Wikipedia article “Rattlesnake Mountain (Benton County, Washington)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Rattlesnake Mountain the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 54° (NE) at the June solstice and 124° (SE) in late December. Sunset moves from 306° (NW) in June to 236° (SW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 67° in summer but only 20° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:02 AM | 89° E | 7:11 PM | 271° W | 44° | 12h 09m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:07 AM | 54° NE | 8:55 PM | 306° NW | 67° | 15h 49m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:46 AM | 89° E | 6:58 PM | 271° W | 44° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:40 AM | 124° SE | 4:15 PM | 236° SW | 20° | 8h 35m |
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 | 7:38 AM | 8:27 AM | 3:50 PM | 4:39 PM | 5:12 PM | 9h 00m |
| February | 6:32 AM | 7:03 AM | 7:45 AM | 4:42 PM | 5:24 PM | 5:55 PM | 10h 21m |
| March | 6:42 AM | 7:12 AM | 7:52 AM | 6:24 PM | 7:04 PM | 7:34 PM | 11h 52m |
| April | 5:41 AM | 6:12 AM | 6:53 AM | 7:05 PM | 7:46 PM | 8:18 PM | 13h 34m |
| May | 4:50 AM | 5:26 AM | 6:10 AM | 7:42 PM | 8:26 PM | 9:01 PM | 15h 00m |
| June | 4:27 AM | 5:06 AM | 5:53 AM | 8:07 PM | 8:53 PM | 9:32 PM | 15h 47m |
| July | 4:44 AM | 5:22 AM | 6:07 AM | 8:03 PM | 8:48 PM | 9:26 PM | 15h 27m |
| August | 5:25 AM | 5:58 AM | 6:40 AM | 7:28 PM | 8:10 PM | 8:43 PM | 14h 12m |
| September | 6:07 AM | 6:37 AM | 7:17 AM | 6:32 PM | 7:12 PM | 7:42 PM | 12h 35m |
| October | 6:46 AM | 7:16 AM | 7:57 AM | 5:32 PM | 6:13 PM | 6:44 PM | 10h 57m |
| November | 6:28 AM | 7:01 AM | 7:47 AM | 3:41 PM | 4:27 PM | 5:00 PM | 9h 26m |
| December | 7:01 AM | 7:36 AM | 8:27 AM | 3:22 PM | 4:13 PM | 4:48 PM | 8h 37m |
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 Rattlesnake Mountain, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from April through August. June gives the longest window (about 2.5 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 15° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 3 (rural sky), good enough for detailed Milky Way images.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -5° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 6° | — |
| March | 5:15 AM – 5:25 AM | 0.2 | 11° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 3:17 AM – 4:17 AM | 1.0 | 14° | SSE → S |
| May | 1:12 AM – 3:02 AM | 1.8 | 15° | SSE → S |
| June | 11:42 PM – 2:12 AM | 2.5 | 15° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 11:20 PM – 1:00 AM | 1.7 | 15° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:09 PM – 10:59 PM | 0.8 | 13° | SSW → SSW |
| September | 8:55 PM – 8:55 PM | 0.0 | 11° | SSW → SSW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 6° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -4° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -20° | — |
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: 3 Bortle 3 — Rural sky. Some light domes sit on the horizon, but the Milky Way still looks complex overhead. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.3 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 5.0+ 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 26% average cloud cover) and January as the cloudiest (79%). 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 | 64 | 64 | 76 | 89 | 99 | 108 | 110 | 109 | 102 | 87 | 70 | 62 |
| Low °F | -3 | 7 | 12 | 27 | 33 | 42 | 49 | 48 | 34 | 19 | 15 | 8 |
| Precip. (in) | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.6 |
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.
- Bring a spare battery — cold weather and long exposures drain them fast.
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 Rattlesnake Mountain, closest first.
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Rattlesnake Mountain?
What time is golden hour at Rattlesnake Mountain?
Where does the sun rise and set at Rattlesnake Mountain?
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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.