A natural phenomenon creates the blue haze that rests over the region.
The blue haze that rests over theBlue Ridge Mountainsis a familiar sightexperienced by travelersworldwide.
Some summer days, the mountains are a powder blue that is almost gray.
Credit: Franz-Marc Frei/Getty Images
It describes the many waysover many decadesscientists have tried to determine why the mountains appear blue.
Where Are The Blue Ridge Mountains?
TheBlue Ridge Mountainsstretch for 450 miles from Pennsylvania to Georgia.
What Do The Blue Ridge Mountains Look Like?
These include schists, gneisses, slates, and quartzites, and are extensively intruded by igneous bodies."
What Makes The Blue Ridge Mountains So Blue?
Several people tried to get to the bottom of it.
The 1964New York Timesarticle describes the theory of Dr. F. W. Went.
VOCs are organic chemicals that easily form vapors at normal temperatures and pressures.
The classes of VOCs called terpenes are naturally occurring hydrocarbons emitted by conifers.
Trees produce fine mists of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which scatter blue light waves.
This creates the bluish haze the eye can detect over the mountains.
you’re able to learn more about the natural phenomena of the Blue Ridge Mountains atnps.gov.
