Fall Colors Across America
Fall has something magical about it when green leaves turn into brilliant yellows, oranges, reds, and golds. Whole mountainsides turn into patches of color, and quiet country roads become especially beautiful, bursting with color at every turn.
Each region of the country has its own version of a colorful fall, shaped by climate, elevation, soil, and the types of trees that grow there.
In the Northeast, fall is EPIC. The trees lining every road in New England present a sea of color. Maple trees turn a deep red, while birches glow a bright yellow in the sunlight. Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and New York are especially beautiful during autumn’s “peak” foliage days. Small towns, old barns, stone walls, and lakes add to the feeling that autumn was invented there. Bring your camera and embrace New England’s colorful leaves.
The Midwest has a more subtle beauty. Across states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ohio, forests and farmland change color more gradually as the season moves along. There is something peaceful about seeing golden trees surrounding open yellow fields. At the Great Lakes, forests roll down to meet the deep blue water. In the Midwest, it is as if the land itself slows down, waiting for winter.
In the South, fall is completely different. Temperatures stay warmer longer, and the change comes later the closer you are to the Gulf. The mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia can create spectacular color in October, and the Appalachian Mountain passes are filled with red maples, golden oaks, and trees with many yellow and orange leaves. Further south, a mixture of tree types forms silhouettes against the golden sunlight as summer lingers. Fall has a softness to it in the South.
In the West, “fall colors” are connected to the mountains. Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Utah are famous for their aspen trees and their flickering, heart-shaped leaves. Entire hillsides turn from a pale green to the brightest yellow one can imagine. Add to that the contrast of dark evergreen stands, snow on the peaks above the treeline, and a cloudless, bright blue sky. In the West, the fall can feel more dramatic, with cold nights and the vertical landscape.
The Pacific Northwest offers a different interpretation of autumn. Oregon and Washington are filled with evergreens but also have plenty of maples and cottonwoods that bring color to the landscape. Misty air fills the morning, and a combination of rain, fog, rivers, waterfalls, and huge mountains gives the season a mysterious haze. Fall in the Pacific Northwest isn’t simple, but the mix of colors and atmosphere creates a beauty that is unique and memorable.
Even the desert landscape of the Southwest has a different glow during autumn. In Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada, cottonwoods line the rivers, and the shaded canyons are coo. Both display fall colors dominated by shades of yellow. The red rocks and arid landscape are a grand backdrop for this more limited palette, yet in the warmth of sunset the tall grasses and cottonwoods glow. Golden trees are enough to say, “Fall is here.”
Every region in the US has its own FALL SEASON, its own weather, its own landscape, and its own special feeling.
The school year has started, and for most of us the calendar resets in September (fall). The holidays are coming, which we look forward to, and then we must make the most of the winter months. The hard work of the year (kind of) ends in May, and with summer comes recess! Reality roars back in at the end of August / the beginning of September as days get shorter. All of this leads us back to fall, when the real American calendar actually begins!
Fall reminds us that change is a part of life, something to count on and look forward to… plus the leaves show us change is often beautiful.
Enjoy the year’s most colorful season!
Jack Atkinson — Editor / Publisher / Founder: ARTS&FOOD® society and magazine
