Mount Bona

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Mount Bona rises to 5,045 m in Alaska. Mount Churchill stands 4,767 m to the north-northeast, 2.6 miles off. 20 named places lie within 25 miles, 19 of them named summits.
The story
Mount Bona is one of the major mountains of the Saint Elias Mountains in eastern Alaska, and is the fifth-highest independent peak in the United States. It is either the tenth- or eleventh-highest peak in North America. Mount Bona and its adjacent neighbor Mount Churchill are both large ice-covered stratovolcanoes. Bona has the distinction of being the highest volcano in the United States and the fourth-highest in North America, outranked only by the three highest Mexican volcanoes, Pico de Orizaba, Popocatépetl, and Iztaccíhuatl. Its summit is a small stratovolcano on top of a high platform of sedimentary rocks. The mountain's massif is covered almost entirely by icefields and glaciers, and it is the principal source of ice for the Klutlan Glacier, which flows east for over 40 miles (64 km) into the Yukon Territory of Canada. The mountain also contributes a large volume of ice to the north-flowing Russell Glacier system. Mount Bona was named by Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi in 1897, who saw the peak while making the first ascent of Mount Saint Elias about 80 miles (130 km) to the southeast. He named it after the Bona, his racing yacht. The mountain was first climbed in 1930 by Allen Carpé, Terris Moore, and Andrew Taylor, from the Russell Glacier on the west of the peak. The current standard route is the East Ridge; a climb of nearby Mount Churchill is a relatively easy addition via this route as well.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q48691, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 5045 m
How to reach it
20 named places within 25 miles
- Mount Churchill: 2.6 mi
- University Peak: 4.2 mi
- Aello Peak: 5.2 mi
- Ocypete Peak: 7.1 mi
- Celeno Peak: 8.0 mi
- Chitistone Falls: 18.0 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of Mount Bona. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Churchill | NNE 26° | 4,767 m | 2.6 mi |
| Mount Bear | ESE 109° | 4,520 m | 21.2 mi |
| University Peak | SSW 197° | 4,411 m | 4.2 mi |
| Aello Peak | WSW 254° | 4,403 m | 5.2 mi |
| Mount Natazhat | ENE 66° | 4,095 m | 23.4 mi |
| Ocypete Peak | WSW 245° | 4,060 m | 7.1 mi |
| Celeno Peak | WSW 246° | 4,000 m | 8.0 mi |
| Mount Sulzer | NNE 15° | 3,330 m | 17.1 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:29 | 18:44 | 19:42 |
| June solstice | 03:46 | 21:45 | 23:13 |
| September equinox | 07:12 | 18:32 | 19:29 |
| December solstice | 09:44 | — | 15:08 |
Local time (America/Anchorage).
Inside the official boundary of Wrangell–St. Elias National Park. Quietest months by visitation: Jan and Dec; busiest: Jul.
NPS visitation statistics, monthly averages 2021–2025 (2020 excluded).
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/6051450774
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