Here on the front range of the Colorado Rockies the mountain peaks tower as much as 9,000ft/2743.2m above the Great Plains. The higher you climb the colder it gets. This temperature change, called the lapse rate, is 6.5 degrees Celsius per 1000 meters or 3.57 degrees Fahrenheit per 1000 feet. This represents a 32F/18C temperature gradient from peak to prairie. It is for this reason that the autumn hues start their descent from the high country tundra in early September and work their way down to the prairie by late October. Boulder Colorado is on the boundary (ecotone) between the mountains and the prairie and is located at the base of the foothills. This temperature gradient conveniently provides Boulderites with lots of time to savor the fall color season (and the spring flowers to come).
Our first major snowstorm arrived yesterday so I used this week to take some photos before and after the snowfall. The storm eventually left 10in/25.40cm of snow. The last of fall color, descended from the high country, has completed its journey and is now fading to white.
Before…
Fall Color On The Prairie Before the Storm
After…
Snow Blankets the Prairie
Boulder’s iconic First Flatiron before…
Flatiron Color Captured 23 October 2011 Noon @ 39°59'40.74"N 105°17'14.46"W
After…
Frosted Flatiron
One of my favorite Boulder fall hangouts is the South Mesa Trail. Mandy and I went there to capture the last hues before the snow quenches the color…
Mandy Takes a Colorful Break
The landscape changed the next day…
Mandy Chills Out
South Mesa offers great fall vistas…
Captured 19 Oct 2011 10:15am @ 39°56'25.45"N 105°15'36.88"W
The sumac (Rhus coriaria) was at its peak…
The Fall Sumac are Brilliant
South Mesa Sumac Vista
Today many of the brilliant leaves have fallen onto the snow…
Many of the Sumac Leaves Have Fallen
Even the remaining sumac seeds (drupes) are beautiful…
The Sumac's Fruit (Drupe)
Still many leaves remain forming the foreground for Devil’s Thumb and Boulder’s southern peaks…
Frosty Fall Wonderland
Soon the South Mesa sumac will be bare, its red hues fading to winter brown and white…
South Mesa Wintermoon Vista Captured 23 Feb 2010 9:07 am
Tags: Boulder, Colorado, First Flatiron, Front Range of the Colorado Rockies, lapse rate, Rhus coriaria, South Mesa Trail, sumac
October 29, 2011 at 4:37 am |
Love this set of photos, Rich!