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Sunset color palettes: hex codes for golden hour, desert and tropical

Five sunset palettes with hex codes, from golden hour sun (#FFCF70), glow (#FF9F43) and dusk purple (#574B90) to desert, tropical, twilight and ocean sets. Readable text pairs are listed, with copy and PNG export.

By Paul Gunder. Every value is computed from published standards; see how ColorPlum works.

Updated

Golden hour

  1. #FFCF70Sun
  2. #FF9F43Glow
  3. #FF6B6BCoral sky
  4. #C44569Rose
  5. #574B90Dusk
  • #FFCF70Sun
  • #FF9F43Glow
  • #FF6B6BCoral sky
  • #C44569Rose
  • #574B90Dusk

Preview

Golden hour

Body text in dusk on sun, with coral sky as the accent.

Button

Readable text pairs (WCAG AA, 4.5:1 or more): Dusk on Sun 5.12:1

Desert sunset

  1. #F6BD60Sand gold
  2. #E76F51Terracotta
  3. #9C3D54Mesa
  4. #2A2D43Night
  5. #F7EDE2Haze
  • #F6BD60Sand gold
  • #E76F51Terracotta
  • #9C3D54Mesa
  • #2A2D43Night
  • #F7EDE2Haze

Preview

Desert sunset

Body text in night on haze, with terracotta as the accent.

Button

Readable text pairs (WCAG AA, 4.5:1 or more): Night on Haze 11.68:1; Night on Sand gold 7.95:1; Mesa on Haze 5.66:1

Tropical sunset

  1. #FFD23FMango
  2. #EE4266Hibiscus
  3. #540D6EOrchid night
  4. #3BCEACLagoon
  5. #0EAD69Palm
  • #FFD23FMango
  • #EE4266Hibiscus
  • #540D6EOrchid night
  • #3BCEACLagoon
  • #0EAD69Palm

Preview

Tropical sunset

Body text in orchid night on mango, with hibiscus as the accent.

Button

Readable text pairs (WCAG AA, 4.5:1 or more): Orchid night on Mango 8.76:1; Orchid night on Lagoon 6.39:1

After the sun

  1. #2B2D42Indigo
  2. #5C4D7DTwilight
  3. #B56576Mauve
  4. #E56B6FAfterglow
  5. #EAAC8BPeach
  • #2B2D42Indigo
  • #5C4D7DTwilight
  • #B56576Mauve
  • #E56B6FAfterglow
  • #EAAC8BPeach

Preview

After the sun

Body text in indigo on peach, with afterglow as the accent.

Button

Readable text pairs (WCAG AA, 4.5:1 or more): Indigo on Peach 6.91:1

Sunset over water

  1. #FCA311Gold
  2. #E85D04Flame
  3. #9D0208Red sky
  4. #14213DDeep water
  5. #5C7AA3Reflection
  • #FCA311Gold
  • #E85D04Flame
  • #9D0208Red sky
  • #14213DDeep water
  • #5C7AA3Reflection

Preview

Sunset over water

Body text in deep water on gold, with flame as the accent.

Button

Readable text pairs (WCAG AA, 4.5:1 or more): Deep water on Gold 7.90:1; Deep water on Flame 4.56:1

Every palette here in 3D color space

Lightness runs up the pole and hue goes around it, so palettes that share a mood sit in the same region. Drag to turn it.

The 25 colors on this page in OKLab
  • Sun
  • Glow
  • Coral sky
  • Rose
  • Dusk
  • Sand gold
  • Terracotta
  • Mesa
  • Night
  • Haze
  • Mango
  • Hibiscus
  • Orchid night
  • Lagoon
  • Palm
  • Indigo
  • Twilight
  • Mauve
  • Afterglow
  • Peach
  • Gold
  • Flame
  • Red sky
  • Deep water
  • Reflection
On this page

A sunset is a gradient of temperature: the sky near the sun is warm yellow, then orange, then pink and red, and finally the cool purple and blue of the part already in shadow. The palettes on this page keep that order, so the colors work well as stops in a gradient or as horizontal bands in a poster.

The five palettes

  • Golden hour goes sun (#FFCF70), glow (#FF9F43), coral sky (#FF6B6B), rose (#C44569) and dusk (#574B90).
  • Desert sunset uses sand gold, terracotta (#E76F51), mesa (#9C3D54), night (#2A2D43) and a pale haze (#F7EDE2).
  • Tropical sunset is saturated: mango (#FFD23F), hibiscus (#EE4266), orchid night (#540D6E), plus lagoon and palm greens.
  • After the sun is what happens fifteen minutes later: indigo, twilight, mauve, afterglow and peach.
  • Sunset over water pairs gold (#FCA311), flame (#E85D04) and red sky (#9D0208) with deep water (#14213D) and a reflection blue (#5C7AA3).

Text and the sky

Because the sky is bright in the middle and dark at the edges, text works best on the extremes. In golden hour, dusk on sun measures 5.12:1. The desert set is the most flexible: night on haze is 11.68:1, night on sand gold 7.95:1 and mesa on haze 5.66:1. Tropical sunset gives orchid night on mango at 8.76:1 and on lagoon 6.39:1. After the sun has indigo on peach at 6.91:1, and sunset over water has deep water on gold at 7.90:1 and on flame at 4.56:1, which just clears the minimum.

Colors in the middle of a sunset, such as coral and rose, do not hold text on each other. Use them as art, then place type on the dark or pale ends.

Worked example

You are creating a poster for an outdoor beach concert. Use desert sunset or sunset over water. Let the top of the poster be deep water (#14213D) and the bottom a wide band of gold (#FCA311). Between them stack flame and red sky as stripes, then a thin line of reflection blue near the horizon. Put the band name in gold on the dark top, and the date and ticket link on the gold band in deep water, which reaches 7.90:1, so it stays crisp on a printed poster seen from across the street. Use the gradient generator if you prefer a smooth blend to stripes, or the sunset gradient page for ready blends.

Orange gradient examples are good companions. For another warm seasonal set try fall, or red and gold.

Sources

  1. W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2: contrast minimum (checked 2026-11-10) w3.org
  2. W3C, CSS Color Module Level 4: hex colors and color conversions (checked 2026-11-10) w3.org