Fall colors below Mount Sneffels near Ridgway, Colorado
© Grant Ordelheide/TANDEM Stills + Motio
Golden fall glow. Fall colors below Mount Sneffels near Ridgway, Colorado
It's that time of year when the hills shed their summer greens, unveiling a blaze of colors that lights up the season. The change usually begins in September and early October, with higher slopes turning first, followed by the lower valleys. Among the stars of this display are the aspens, whose leaves shimmer like gold coins in the sunlight. The magic of aspen colors, however, isn't guaranteed year after year. Their golden glow depends on many factors—tree health, local weather shifts, soil moisture, and where they grow in terms of elevation and latitude. Healthy aspens are the true stars of the season: strong, thriving groves burst with brighter colors and hold onto their leaves longer, while stressed or weakened trees often fade quickly, offering only a glimpse of their usual brilliance. Today's image captures their full glow at the base of Mount Sneffels, the highest peak in Colorado's Sneffels Range, rising more than 7,000 feet above the town of Ridgway.
Related Images
At the top of Mount Fuji in Japan
Coast redwoods in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, California
For Waitangi Day, the Pancake Rocks on New Zealand’s South Island
An old farm in the Shetland Islands, Scotland
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China
Hope Valley, Peak District, England
Mua Caves in the Ninh Bình province of Vietnam
Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state
Bing Today Images
