Sun Circle
Sun Circle is a historic site in Arizona, at a modelled elevation of 689 m. Mount Lemmon stands 2,794 m to the northeast, 16 miles off. The nearest named place is Paseo Del Rio Neighborhood Park, a park 0.5 miles away. Sky Island Scenic Byway passes 15 miles off.
The story
The Sun Circle is a sculpture located within the Rillito River Park, a Pima County linear park running along the banks of the Rillito River north of Tucson, Arizona. Inspired by the archaeoastronomy of the southwestern United States Ancestral Puebloans in locations such as Chaco Canyon, Sun Circle uses astronomical alignments to cast shadows and light through apertures (windows) to align with corresponding windows on equinoxes and solstices at sunrise and sunset.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q25222552, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
How to reach it
- 15.3 mi off the Sky Island Scenic Byway, National
- 27.3 mi off the Patagonia-Sonoita Scenic Road
Overlooks nearby
- Babad Do'ag Viewpoint · 17 mi
- Thimble Mountain Vista · 17 mi
- Seven Cateracts Vista · 17 mi
- Windy Point · 18 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Paseo Del Rio Neighborhood Park: 0.5 mi
- Flowing Wells Park: 1.1 mi
- Meadowbrook Park: 1.2 mi
- Children's Memorial Park: 1.4 mi
- Dan Felix Memorial Park: 1.6 mi
- Silverbell-Goret Open Space: 2.7 mi
- Painted Sunset Greenway: 3.0 mi
- Silverbell Hills Estates: 3.2 mi
- Painted Hills Ranch: 4.0 mi
- Painted Hills Natural Resource Park: 4.3 mi
- Recoil Peak: 5.1 mi
- Bactrian Summit: 5.1 mi
- Twin Hills: 5.7 mi
- Tumamoc Hill: 6.1 mi
- Rosewood Point: 6.1 mi
- Finger Rock Spring: 6.9 mi
- Pima Spring: 8.8 mi
- Buster Spring: 10.1 mi
- Red Warrior Spring: 12.1 mi
- Rancho Fundoshi Spring: 12.2 mi
- Red Stallion: 4.5 mi
- Tucson Miracle Mile Neon Welcome Sign: 4.5 mi
- Tropicana Motor Hotel Historic Neon Sign: 4.7 mi
- Magic Carpet Golf Historic Neon Sign: 4.7 mi
- Canyon State/The Arizonan Motel Historic Neon Sign: 4.7 mi
- Mesquite Bosque: 3.0 mi
- Succulent Garden: 3.0 mi
- Meditation Garden: 3.1 mi
- Sonoran Seasons Garden: 3.1 mi
- Desert Living Courtyard: 3.1 mi
- Rio Grande Steel Sided Caboose 01433: 1.5 mi
- Crested Saguaro: 3.0 mi
- Geology Wall: 3.1 mi
- Mural No tell Motel: 3.8 mi
- Miracle Mile Historic District: 4.3 mi
- Gadsden-Pacific Division Toy Train Operating Museum: 1.5 mi
- Children’s Museum Oro Valley: 3.1 mi
- H. H. Franklin Auto Museum: 4.0 mi
- Postal History Foundation: 5.4 mi
- Museum of Art: 5.4 mi
- Saguarohenge: 2.1 mi
- Valley of the Moon: 4.7 mi
- Dr. Thomas Mixner Memorial: 5.6 mi
- N.E. Corner Adobe Wall of Spanish Presidio of Tucson: 5.6 mi
- January 8th Memorial: 5.7 mi
- Mam-a-Gah Picnic Area: 9.4 mi
- Juan Santa Cruz Picnic Area: 10.1 mi
- Cactus Picnic Area: 11.2 mi
- Overlook Picnic Area: 11.4 mi
- Signal Hill Picnic Area: 11.8 mi
- Walter's Cascade: 8.7 mi
- Seven Falls: 13.9 mi
- Seven Catarcts: 17.0 mi
- Tanque Verde Falls: 20.8 mi
- Ernie's Falls: 21.1 mi
- Honey Bee Canyon: 10.9 mi
- Jailhouse Rock: 16.6 mi
- Mr Meanor Wall: 16.7 mi
- Alcatraz: 16.7 mi
- Sun Spot: 18.8 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 17.4 miles of Sun Circle. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Lemmon | NE 52° | 2,794 m | 16.1 mi |
| Marshall Peak | ENE 59° | 2,530 m | 16.4 mi |
| Cathedral Rock | ENE 58° | 2,425.64 m | 11.3 mi |
| Samaniego Peak | NE 44° | 2,312 m | 16.1 mi |
| Window Peak | ENE 60° | 2,277 m | 10.3 mi |
| Mount Kimball | NE 55° | 2,213.56 m | 9.2 mi |
| Little Kimball | ENE 59° | 2,171 m | 9.1 mi |
| Mule Ears | NE 42° | 2,161 m | 17.4 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 06:29 | 18:04 | 18:36 |
| June solstice | 05:18 | 18:59 | 19:35 |
| September equinox | 06:13 | 17:50 | 18:22 |
| December solstice | 07:22 | 16:46 | 17:24 |
Local time (America/Phoenix).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Oct–May.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 53 | 56 | 62 | 68 | 76 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 83 | 72 | 61 | 53 |
| Precip in | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.1 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Tucson U OF A #1, 3 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element way/275997175
Day trips start here
- Tucson · 9 mi
- Saguaro National Park · 30 mi
Take the scenic way to Sun Circle.
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