Snow on the Rockies
by Greg Reed
Title
Snow on the Rockies
Artist
Greg Reed
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
Taken April 26, 2013 at Westcliffe, CO
Rocky Mountains, major mountain system of W North America and easternmost belt of the North American cordillera, extending more than 3,000 mi (4,800 km) from central N.Mex. to NW Alaska; Mt. Elbert (14,431 ft/4,399 m) in Colorado is the highest peak. The Rockies are located between the Great Plains on the east (from which they rise abruptly for most of their length) and a series of broad basins and plateaus on the west.
The mountains form the Continental Divide, separating rivers draining to the Atlantic and Arctic oceans from those draining to the Pacific. The major Atlantic-bound rivers rising in the Rockies include the Rio Grande, Arkansas, Platte, Yellowstone, Missouri, and Saskatchewan. Those draining to the Arctic include the Peace, Athabasca, and Liard rivers. Flowing to the Pacific Ocean are the Colorado, Columbia, Snake, Fraser, and Yukon rivers.
Source: http://www.encyclopedia.com/places/united-states-and-canada/us-physical-geography/rocky-mountains
Virga often appears in streaks or shafts extending from the bottoms of clouds. You often see virga over a desert, where low humidity and high temperatures can cause rain to evaporate shortly after being released by clouds. Or you might see virga at high altitudes; in fact, the precipitation often starts out in the form of ice crystals. Virga is commonly seen in the U.S. West and above the Canadian Prairies, in the Middle East, Australia and North Africa. At some northerly latitudes, too – as in the photos from Sweden on this page – virga sometimes paints the sky above.
The word virga is derived from Latin meaning “twig” or “branch”.
Source: http://earthsky.org/earth/virga-is-rain-that-doesnt-reach-the-ground
Uploaded
May 3rd, 2013
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Viewed 492 Times - Last Visitor from Cambridge, MA on 04/19/2024 at 3:24 PM
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Comments (23)
Allan Van Gasbeck
Congratulations! Your outstanding artwork has been chosen as a FEATURE in the “The Skyscapes” group on Fine Art America — You are invited to post your featured image to the featured image discussion thread as a permanent place to continue to get exposure even after the image is no longer on the Home Page.
Lorraine Baum
Congratulations Greg - Your wonderful image has been Featured in the All COLORADO group. Please add it to the 2023 Featured Archives group discussion. L/F
Randi Grace Nilsberg
Stunning! You were in the right spot at the right time, one of the hardest things in photography! v
Greg Reed replied:
Indeed Randi, timing is at least 50% of any nature image, 40% skill and 10% equipment!!! Thanks for the great comment & vote!! :)
Kylie Sabra
Oh! that is a cool image! F/V
Greg Reed replied:
Kylie, thank you for the lovely comment and the v&f!! It was indeed a cool afternoon for some dramatic mountain and weather images that day!
John Chivers
This is incredibly beautiful and what a shot!! the greatness of the sky's is outstanding..this is something you would find in the pages of a national geographic book!! breathtaking V/F :) If you have any spare votes I'm entering a image of mine for the TV context and am desperate for votes to go through to the judging round many many thanks for any help on this, john.. http://fineartamerica.com/contests/national-tv-photo-contest-2.html?tab=vote&artworkid=3831153
Michel Verhoef
Wow....great weather force...only possible in the big countries....what an encounter !
Greg Reed replied:
Indeed, I have seen some very dramatic weather in the western USA!! Thanks for the comment!
Jenny Rainbow
So impressive clouds formation, Greg! Looks epic!
Greg Reed replied:
Jenny, that is why I live in the mountains - there is often epic looking conditions!! Thank you for your great comment & fav!