Alaskan Range ~ Dusk to Dawn

Whether you are south or north of the central Alaska Range & depending on the season, light & shadow take on an otherworldly cast.

Atmospheric conditions, the moon & long low angle sun allow for a variety of blending around the great peaks from dusk-to-dawn.

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The top images show the north face of Denali from inside Denali National Park & Preserve in the transition of moonrise in the southeast to moonset in the southwest.

In Alaska’s summer season, the moon & the sun switch places, the moon arcing low in the southern skies & our 20+ hour-sun arcing almost a full circle, rising in the NE & setting in the NW.

2nd row-left shows windless hazy conditions from fires in Russia with the northwestern sunset causing silhouette & stark contrast of the massive Range.

At right a lunar eclipse hangs in the west at moonset & a blush of intense winter alpenglow blankets the southern faces of the Range as light bends in the atmosphere before a February sunrise.

3rd row-left shows the great summits still struck by autumn’s sunlight while the land is drawn into deeper shadow.

At right powerful & vivid auroral curtains cover a winter’s night, illuminating the snow cover across the Range with color & light.

4th row-spring sunset paints high cirrus clouds watermelon-pink long after setting, the gathering twilight back-lighting the summit ridgeline of the Range.

Lastly…a small gap in the cloud layer to the southeast allows the summits of Denali & Mt. Hunter to be struck briefly by winter’s first light.

Spectacular wonders like these have occurred across Alaska & our entire world since time immemorial.

In our short lifetimes it’s always good to remind ourselves that, no matter where you are, to experience such fleeting moments is a gift.