Courtesy/U.S. Forest Service
It almost felt like someone flipped a switch. One second we were all sweating our collective butts off as Portland was pummeled by a record number of 90 degree days, and the next second the air felt crisp and our streets were flooded from what felt like the fall season's first real deluge.
It won't technically be fall until Sept. 23, but Mother Nature cares not for human calendars and no matter the date, autumn is here, and it is objectively the best time of the year.
If you like your trees in a monotone green, well, your time has come and gone. Right now it's time for color. It's time for oranges and reds and deep purples that would seem more at home on a Prince album cover than a tree.
The peak of the Pacific Northwest's fall color explosion is predicted for Oct. 12 through Oct. 28, but it's never too early to learn about why the leaves change color.
The science behind the beauty
Most of the colors we adore in fall are actually in trees year round. During the spring and summer, leaves act as little food factories, absorbing sunlight and converting carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates that trees need to grow.
Leaves accomplish this small, but miraculous, feat using chlorophyll, which also happens to give foliage it's familiar green color. The leaves also contain carotenes and xanthophyll pigments, the same chemicals that give carrots their orange color, but the chlorophyll dominates and thus we have green leaves during spring and summer.
Once the hot temperatures begin to wane and sunlight becomes scarce, trees stop making food and begin the process of hunkering down for the coming winter months. With food production ceased, the chlorophyll begins to break down and those other dazzling pigments, which stayed dormant in leaves during warmer months, begin to emerge.
Beta-carotene brings out the oranges. Flavonol, the same compound that gives egg yolks their color, gives leaves their yellow shine. Production of anthocyanin, which acts as a shield for the leaf as the autumn season wears on, ramps up and gives trees the scarlet bursts that punctuate fall forests.
While all this is happening, perennial trees begins producing another specialized cell at the stem of each leaf, severing its connection and preparing for the leaf to fall. The shedding of leaves is a defense mechanism, the soft tissues of foliage would freeze and damage the tree during the cold winter months and so the tree must be rid of them.
That sounds complicated and technical. Is it actually that pretty?
We thought you might ask, so we gathered up the best pictures we could find from Oregon and beyond. Hark ye, and behold the splendor of fall.
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Want to know the best places to see the gloriousness of fall in full display around Oregon? We've got a handy list for you right here.
-- Kale Williams
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