Rita Crane Photography: Foggy Morning by the Ocean, Mendocino Coast
The coastal fog -- also known as the marine layer -- was so thick one couldn't see the ocean that is just beyond the end of this hillside road. The fog hovers along the Western coast of the U.S. in summer and protects this special ecological niche from the scorching heat that exists inland. All the plants and trees depend on it for moisture during the long rainless summers. Even the mighty redwoods were able to thrive here for millenia along the continent's west coast as a result of the fog that would condense on their branches and drip down to the forest floor below, saturating the earth.
The thick fog develops as the hot summer sun creates condensation over the ocean, then this 'marine layer' rolls in and blankets the coast with its protective, nourishing shield of life-sustaining moisture. I am grateful for this cooling effect, and given climate change, am now calling it "angel mist". I hope indeed that it will protect this beautiful region of California from desertification in the decades ahead.
I also appreciate the marine layer for the wondrous mood it creates: it calms the soul during these difficult times on the planet, and is so visually mysterious and magical.
Rita Crane Photography: Foggy Morning by the Ocean, Mendocino Coast
The coastal fog -- also known as the marine layer -- was so thick one couldn't see the ocean that is just beyond the end of this hillside road. The fog hovers along the Western coast of the U.S. in summer and protects this special ecological niche from the scorching heat that exists inland. All the plants and trees depend on it for moisture during the long rainless summers. Even the mighty redwoods were able to thrive here for millenia along the continent's west coast as a result of the fog that would condense on their branches and drip down to the forest floor below, saturating the earth.
The thick fog develops as the hot summer sun creates condensation over the ocean, then this 'marine layer' rolls in and blankets the coast with its protective, nourishing shield of life-sustaining moisture. I am grateful for this cooling effect, and given climate change, am now calling it "angel mist". I hope indeed that it will protect this beautiful region of California from desertification in the decades ahead.
I also appreciate the marine layer for the wondrous mood it creates: it calms the soul during these difficult times on the planet, and is so visually mysterious and magical.