This photo was taken last weekend at the Falls Ridge Preserve in Virginia. The first thing that caught my eye when looking at the waterfall was the abundance of algae growing underneath the flow of water. It attaches to the rocks by holdfasts. Green algae form the base of the food chain providing food for zooplankton and other organism. They also help to purify the environment by absorbing nutrients and metals that Algae is abundant throughout all water environments and help to provide shelter to some species.