Cities where the mountains steal the sun
Almanacs give sunrise and sunset times for a flat horizon. At the foot of mountains, the sun appears later and disappears earlier. The record in this list: Zermatt, 5h 09m less sunshine on 21 June.
| City | Highest terrain | Sun lost in winter | Actual sunrise (winter) | Sun lost in summer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zermatt | 31.7° | 4h 39m | 11:11 (08:07) | 5h 09m |
| Chamonix-Mont-Blanc | 28.9° | 5h 08m | 12:28 (08:11) | 4h 35m |
| Queenstown | 21.2° | 4h 15m | 10:34 (08:24) | 1h 10m |
| Innsbruck | 18.7° | 2h 25m | 09:24 (07:58) | 1h 59m |
| Grenoble | 13.4° | 1h 39m | 08:54 (08:12) | 1h 02m |
| Monaco | 16.2° | 0h 38m | 08:02 (08:00) | 1h 33m |
| Annecy | 11.4° | 0h 52m | 08:54 (08:13) | 1h 03m |
| Dunedin | 6.3° | 1h 18m | 08:52 (08:20) | 0h 35m |
| Oslo | 3.5° | 0h 58m | 10:09 (09:18) | 1h 13m |
| Nice | 6.7° | 0h 35m | 08:18 (08:01) | 1h 10m |
| Bilbao | 7.8° | 1h 01m | 08:57 (08:40) | 0h 40m |
| Zurich | 7.7° | 0h 53m | 08:27 (08:10) | 1h 01m |
| Mecca | 14.1° | 0h 10m | 07:00 (06:53) | 1h 00m |
| Saint-Denis (Réunion) | 11.2° | 0h 15m | 06:55 (06:54) | 0h 55m |
| Cape Town | 14.5° | 0h 49m | 07:58 (07:51) | 0h 55m |
| Toulon | 9.9° | 0h 08m | 08:10 (08:04) | 0h 55m |
| Papeete | 12.5° | 0h 07m | 06:35 (06:27) | 0h 54m |
| Reykjavik | 3.2° | 0h 47m | 11:59 (11:22) | 0h 53m |
| Quito | 8.7° | 0h 47m | 06:27 (06:12) | 0h 34m |
| Kathmandu | 6.7° | 0h 29m | 06:55 (06:50) | 0h 50m |
| Clermont-Ferrand | 6.0° | 0h 49m | 08:33 (08:25) | 0h 31m |
| Naples | 4.9° | 0h 20m | 07:33 (07:23) | 0h 30m |
| Kyoto | 5.4° | 0h 39m | 07:28 (07:00) | 0h 38m |
| Geneva | 6.5° | 0h 42m | 08:48 (08:15) | 0h 40m |
| Malaga | 5.2° | 0h 15m | 08:27 (08:26) | 0h 41m |
| Santiago | 7.0° | 0h 24m | 08:08 (07:46) | 0h 34m |
| Granada | 7.4° | 0h 39m | 09:01 (08:24) | 0h 36m |
| Beirut | 4.1° | 0h 37m | 07:01 (06:39) | 0h 18m |
| Athens | 6.0° | 0h 35m | 08:12 (07:37) | 0h 27m |
| Nancy | 3.0° | 0h 16m | 08:27 (08:25) | 0h 35m |
| Vancouver | 5.7° | 0h 09m | 08:10 (08:05) | 0h 33m |
| Hong Kong | 6.9° | 0h 07m | 07:05 (06:58) | 0h 31m |
| Sapporo | 5.3° | 0h 30m | 07:05 (07:02) | 0h 01m |
| Bogotá | 5.2° | 0h 22m | 06:20 (05:58) | 0h 30m |
| Auckland | 4.5° | 0h 11m | 07:42 (07:33) | 0h 11m |
| Rio de Janeiro | 5.3° | 0h 07m | 06:37 (06:32) | 0h 25m |
| Oran | 4.6° | 0h 09m | 08:12 (08:08) | 0h 21m |
| Edinburgh | 3.4° | 0h 22m | 08:55 (08:42) | 0h 06m |
| Nouméa | 4.3° | 0h 14m | 06:41 (06:32) | 0h 24m |
| Palma de Mallorca | 3.5° | 0h 05m | 08:09 (08:06) | 0h 23m |
Method: actual horizon computed for every degree of azimuth, up to 30 km away, from Terrarium elevation tiles (AWS Open Data); direct sun = minutes when the upper edge of the sun is above the ridgeline.