Chimney Rock and Uncompahgre National Forest, Colorado, USA

© Cory Marshall/Tandem Stills + Motio

Fall colour sweeps across the American West. Fall colour sweeps across the American West

The leaves are changing across the West, and few views are more striking than this one of the fall foliage in the Uncompahgre Forest in the shadow of Chimney Rock. The spire and its neighbour Courthouse Mountain dominate the landscape here year-round, but the changing colours make this area—and drives along the nearby Million Dollar Highway—even more scenic in the fall.

The forest gets its name from the Native Americans who have historically lived here, a band of Ute Native Americans called the Uncompahgre Ute People. The Ute People came to what is now Colorado and Utah around 1300, and usually spent their autumns travelling to make offerings to the spirits and hunting buffalo. And, we presume, admiring the spectacular fall colours.