midnight sun summer solstice Alaska tundra flowers midnight sun solstice Mt. McKinley

midnight sun summer solsticemidnight sun summer solstice

Here in Anchorage Alaska, it just barely gets dark as the sun dips below the horizon in the middle of the night during the summer. But we wanted to see the real midnight sun. So the day before solstice this year, we packed up our van and drove about 500 miles to a spot where, thanks to its higher latitude and altitude, you can see the real thing. Eagle Summit reaches the highest elevation on the Steese Highway, a mostly gravel road northeast of Fairbanks. In that magic place, on June 21st, we saw the sun at midnight as it "touched" the horizon but did not set in the northern sky. To the south there was a nearly full moon, both orbs shining brightly in the dusky midnight sky.

The Midnight Sun in interior Alaska, June 21, 1997

"Strawberry Moon"

Click here to see a beautiful multiple exposure shot taken the same night by photographer Bill Hutchinson. See more of his Alaskan photos here.

Millions of tiny but brightly colored flowers bloom at this time of year among the rocks and lichens on the high tundra of Eagle Summit. It is amazing that such thin soil could produce this jubilant celebration of summer.

At Right: Although there are patches of snow remaining, the small white dots you see in the foreground are all flowers.

	Below: Two views along the Parks Highway between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
	The perpetually snow-covered Mt. McKinley snags a cloud for camouflage. The tallest peak in North America is often completely hidden.	The Parks Highway parallels the path of the Nenana River which provides many beautiful vistas of its deep and winding valleys.

Seven years later, in 2004, I went back up to Eagle Summit again for the solstice. Conditions were very different. Smoke from a forest fire obscured the view of the sun, but resulted in a dramatic photo anyway. You can see pictures (taken with a better camera) from that more recent trip at this link: Summer Solstice Scenes, and others

midnight sun summer solstice Alaska tundra flowers midnight sun solstice Mt. McKinley

Links to Learn More About the Science of Summer Solstice Here Comes the Sun! The Seasons Sun Angle--About Declination
(other websites by the same author)
A Fat Old Lady Takes Up Climbing	Alaskan Wildflowers	Butterflies of Alaska	Visit the Turtle Puddle	Free Backgrounds for webpages

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idnight sun summer solstice Alaska tundra flowers midnight sun solstice Mt. McKinley
midnight sun summer solstice Alaska tundra flowers midnight sun solstice Mt. McKinley