Forest Corona

This cousin to the halo formed as the Sun (hidden behind a redwood tree) shone through a misty ground fog. With the Sun blocked out, the corona can be seen where the sun rays penetrate the canopy. At least 2 concentric bands of alternating red and blue, and possibly a third, can be seen radiating away from the Sun. Coronas are caused by refractions in tiny water droplets. Here is a close-up of the corona. This image was taken from the Damnation Creek Trail in the Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park.

Print No. A02-13-8

Here are more images of haloes and related phenomena.

Fern Canyon

Fern Canyon is in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, just north of Gold Bluffs Beach and can be accessed from the beach. The unique narrow fern-lined canyon, with vertical walls over 30 feet (10 meters) high, was used for some scenes in the movie Jurassic Park II. These cliffs of the Gold Bluff Formation are composed of sediments from of the ancestral mouth of the Klamath River. Gold Bluffs was named for the very fine gold found in its black sands.

Print No. A02-10-3

Hole in Stout Grove Redwood

Stout Grove is in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, east of Crescent City. The rich soil from the Smith River, which runs next to the grove, has produced these relatively thick, stout redwoods. Redwood bark is resistant to fire. But if eventually breached, the inner core may rot out resulting in hollows that some locals refer to as "goose pens" since early settlers used to keep poultry in them. Sometimes these hollows result in holes through the center of the tree, as in this one.

Print No. A02-11-7

Redwood and Rhododendron

Along with the redwood, a common plant in the redwood forest is the flowering rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum). The persistent fog is a key element in this environment. Warm, moist marine air passing over the cold surface water of the Pacific results in the fog that is nearly a daily event throughout the summer along the immediate coast. Combined with a typically wet winter producing most of the annual 25 to 122 inches (63 and 310 cm) of rain, soil moisture is kept high and loss of water through evaporation is minimal.

Print No. A02-12-8

Iris along the Beach

Damnation Creek Trail in the Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park abruptly ends after 2.2 miles (3.6 Km) when it descends about 1,000 feet (330 meters) and reaches the ocean. This path was used by the Tolowa tribe to gather food from the ocean. The cliffsides expose the gray sandstones and mudstones of the Franciscan Assemblage.

Print No. A02-12-11

Nickel Creek

Nickel Creek lies along the northern coastal section of Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. Here along the coastal lowlands, redwoods give way to ferns, maples, and mosses.

Print No. A99NW-4-3