Located in Navajo County, Arizona, Church Rock is a rock formation. It sits roughly 12.1 km (7.5 mi) E of Kayenta.
Church Rock is a pillar in Navajo County, Arizona. It is located near the mouth of Church Rock Valley with a summit elevation of 5,862 feet (1,787 m). It is situated 7.5 miles (12.1 km) east of the community of Kayenta, on Navajo Nation land, and can be seen from Highway 160 as it rises 400 feet above Church Rock Valley. It is one of the eroded volcanic plugs, or diatremes, of the Navajo Volcanic Field, which is a volcanic field that includes intrusions and flows of minette and other unusual igneous rocks which formed around 30 million years ago during the Oligocene.From the Wikipedia article “Church Rock (Arizona)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Church Rock 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 | 8:43 PM | 301° WNW | 77° | 14h 41m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:09 AM | 89° E | 7:19 PM | 271° W | 54° | 12h 10m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:30 AM | 119° ESE | 5:09 PM | 241° WSW | 30° | 9h 39m |
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
Rock towers and buttes glow red and orange in the first and last half-hour of sun; midday light flattens their shape.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:05 AM | 7:33 AM | 8:12 AM | 4:49 PM | 5:28 PM | 5:56 PM | 9h 55m |
| February | 6:43 AM | 7:10 AM | 7:46 AM | 5:26 PM | 6:01 PM | 6:28 PM | 10h 52m |
| March | 7:06 AM | 7:32 AM | 8:07 AM | 6:54 PM | 7:28 PM | 7:54 PM | 11h 56m |
| April | 6:20 AM | 6:47 AM | 7:22 AM | 7:20 PM | 7:55 PM | 8:22 PM | 13h 08m |
| May | 5:45 AM | 6:14 AM | 6:51 AM | 7:45 PM | 8:21 PM | 8:50 PM | 14h 08m |
| June | 5:31 AM | 6:02 AM | 6:40 AM | 8:03 PM | 8:42 PM | 9:12 PM | 14h 40m |
| July | 5:44 AM | 6:14 AM | 6:52 AM | 8:02 PM | 8:40 PM | 9:10 PM | 14h 26m |
| August | 6:11 AM | 6:39 AM | 7:14 AM | 7:38 PM | 8:13 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 | 7:02 AM | 7:28 AM | 8:03 AM | 6:10 PM | 6:45 PM | 7:11 PM | 11h 17m |
| November | 6:32 AM | 6:59 AM | 7:37 AM | 4:35 PM | 5:13 PM | 5:40 PM | 10h 13m |
| December | 6:58 AM | 7:27 AM | 8:07 AM | 4:26 PM | 5:06 PM | 5:35 PM | 9h 40m |
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 Church Rock, 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 | 5:08 AM – 5:38 AM | 0.5 | 14° | SE → SE |
| March | 4:24 AM – 6:04 AM | 1.7 | 21° | SE → SSE |
| April | 2:16 AM – 5:06 AM | 2.8 | 24° | SE → S |
| May | 12:23 AM – 4:23 AM | 4.0 | 24° | SE → SSW |
| June | 10:33 PM – 4:03 AM | 5.5 | 24° | SE → SW |
| July | 10:27 PM – 2:37 AM | 4.2 | 24° | SSE → SW |
| August | 9:48 PM – 12:38 AM | 2.8 | 24° | S → SW |
| September | 8:57 PM – 10:37 PM | 1.7 | 21° | SSW → SW |
| October | 8:11 PM – 8:41 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 ≈ 21.84 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 rock formation
- Stay on trails; desert soils and lichens take decades to recover from footprints.
- Find a spot where the formation sits against open sky to emphasize its silhouette.
- At night, a formation under the Milky Way or star trails makes a strong anchor.
- Use the sunrise and sunset azimuths below to know which face will be lit.
- Shoot RAW to keep the most latitude for high-contrast sunrise and sunset scenes.
Season: Spring and autumn are best in desert regions; winter snow on red rock is rare but spectacular.
Suggested gear: Wide and telephoto lenses, Tripod, Headlamp. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Church Rock, closest first.
Natural Arch
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When is the best time to photograph Church Rock?
What time is golden hour at Church Rock?
Where does the sun rise and set at Church Rock?
Can you see the Milky Way from Church Rock?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Church Rock?
How far is Church Rock from Kayenta?
Sources
Location data: Wikidata, 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.