Located in Big Horn County, Wyoming, Black Tooth Mountain is a mountain peak at about 3,732 m (12,244 ft) above sea level. The nearest town is Buffalo, about 39 km (24 mi) away (Black Tooth Mountain lies W of town).
Black Tooth Mountain (13,009 feet or 3,965 metres) is located in the Bighorn Mountains in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The peak is the second highest in the range after Cloud Peak, which is only 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the south, and the summit is located in the Cloud Peak Wilderness of Bighorn National Forest. The sharp dark profile of the mountain resembles a dark tooth or fang, hence the name. Because of the steep terrain, Black Tooth Mountain is one of the hardest mountains to climb in the Bighorns. Many of the trails up the mountain are unmarked which adds to the difficulty of reaching the summit. Mount Woolsey is an adjacent summit only .20 mi (0.32 km) to the southeast. Another high peak of the Bighorns known as Hallelujah Peak is situated along a knife-like ridge known as an arête .64 mi (1.03 km) to the northeast. Several tiny remnant glaciers can be found on the north slopes of...From the Wikipedia article “Black Tooth Mountain”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Black Tooth Mountain the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 55° (NE) at the June solstice and 123° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 305° (NW) in June to 237° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 69° in summer but only 22° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:13 AM | 90° E | 7:21 PM | 271° W | 45° | 12h 09m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:25 AM | 55° NE | 8:57 PM | 305° NW | 69° | 15h 32m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:57 AM | 89° E | 7:08 PM | 271° W | 46° | 12h 11m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:43 AM | 123° ESE | 4:33 PM | 237° WSW | 22° | 8h 50m |
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 | 7:10 AM | 7:42 AM | 8:28 AM | 4:09 PM | 4:55 PM | 5:28 PM | 9h 13m |
| February | 6:40 AM | 7:10 AM | 7:50 AM | 4:57 PM | 5:38 PM | 6:08 PM | 10h 28m |
| March | 6:53 AM | 7:22 AM | 8:00 AM | 6:37 PM | 7:15 PM | 7:44 PM | 11h 53m |
| April | 5:55 AM | 6:25 AM | 7:05 AM | 7:14 PM | 7:53 PM | 8:23 PM | 13h 28m |
| May | 5:09 AM | 5:42 AM | 6:24 AM | 7:48 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:03 PM | 14h 47m |
| June | 4:48 AM | 5:25 AM | 6:09 AM | 8:11 PM | 8:56 PM | 9:32 PM | 15h 31m |
| July | 5:04 AM | 5:39 AM | 6:22 AM | 8:08 PM | 8:52 PM | 9:27 PM | 15h 12m |
| August | 5:41 AM | 6:13 AM | 6:53 AM | 7:36 PM | 8:16 PM | 8:47 PM | 14h 03m |
| September | 6:19 AM | 6:49 AM | 7:27 AM | 6:43 PM | 7:21 PM | 7:50 PM | 12h 33m |
| October | 6:55 AM | 7:24 AM | 8:04 AM | 5:46 PM | 6:26 PM | 6:55 PM | 11h 02m |
| November | 6:34 AM | 7:06 AM | 7:50 AM | 3:59 PM | 4:43 PM | 5:14 PM | 9h 37m |
| December | 7:05 AM | 7:39 AM | 8:27 AM | 3:43 PM | 4:31 PM | 5:04 PM | 8h 52m |
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 Black Tooth Mountain, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 3.5 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 17° 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 | — | -3° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 8° | — |
| March | 5:03 AM – 5:43 AM | 0.7 | 13° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 3:00 AM – 4:30 AM | 1.5 | 16° | SSE → S |
| May | 1:07 AM – 3:27 AM | 2.3 | 17° | SSE → S |
| June | 11:25 PM – 2:55 AM | 3.5 | 17° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 11:10 PM – 1:30 AM | 2.3 | 17° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:09 PM – 11:29 PM | 1.3 | 16° | SSW → SSW |
| September | 9:01 PM – 9:31 PM | 0.5 | 13° | SSW → SSW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 7° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -3° | — |
| 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: 1 Bortle 1 — Excellent dark-sky site. The Milky Way casts faint shadows; zodiacal light and airglow are obvious. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.92 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 5.5+ 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 40% average cloud cover) and May as the cloudiest (66%). 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 | 39 | 42 | 58 | 69 | 75 | 86 | 92 | 90 | 82 | 73 | 57 | 42 |
| Low °F | -34 | -32 | -21 | -10 | 6 | 21 | 33 | 27 | 11 | -15 | -21 | -32 |
| Precip. (in) | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 1.2 |
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
- 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.
- 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 Black Tooth Mountain, closest first.
Campgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
- West Tensleep Lake16.4 km (10.2 mi) · reservable
- Medicine Lodge Lake Campground16.5 km (10.3 mi)
- Hunter Campground18.1 km (11.2 mi) · reservable
- Circle Park Campground20 km (13 mi) · reservable
- Middle Fork22 km (13 mi) · reservable
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Black Tooth Mountain?
What time is golden hour at Black Tooth Mountain?
Where does the sun rise and set at Black Tooth Mountain?
Can you see the Milky Way from Black Tooth Mountain?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Black Tooth Mountain?
How far is Black Tooth Mountain from Buffalo?
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.