This is something you don’t see every day: fall foliage art.

Leaf Spectrum

See more like this on kontraband.com

A lone tree in the forest has decided to go red early.

An overcast day sometimes brings out the foliage colors even more than sunny days.

Soon the forest will be more red than green.

To help visitors plan their fall foliage viewing trips to Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there are two new websites that provided update leaf reports at Gatlinburg.com and EventsGatlinburg.com. 

These websites chronicle the annual descent of color from the highest elevations of the Smokies in September to the climax of the color in the foothills around Gatlinburg in November.  The websites suggest walks, hikes and drives with the best viewing potential.

Autumn in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a special time when a glorious fall foliage season lasts six to eight weeks.  The autumn colors around Gatlinburg are magnificent and varied due to the amazing diversity of trees and plant life.  Over 100 species of native trees live in the Smokies, the vast majority of which are deciduous.  The timing of fall color depends upon so many variables that the exact dates of “peak” season are impossible to predict in advance.  The key factors are moisture, temperature and wind.

“Over the years, we have not had much success in predicting the quality of the color display months or weeks before it occurs,” said Bob Miller, spokesman for Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  “We have had drought years, like 2008, when we ended up with excellent color, and wet seasons when we had good color, too.  Ultimately what drives the quality of the color is the weather at the time when change is taking place.  The best color comes when we have cool crisp nights, but not hard freezes, combined with bright sunny, warm days.  An early hard freeze can brown-out the leaves and they’ll drop off.  Severe weather like torrential rains and sustained winds can also take a toll on the leaves, tearing them off easily once they have changed.  But we always have good color somewhere it the Smokies.”

Story at Murfreesboro Post

In response to the shorter days and diminished sunlight of early autumn, a layer of cells forms at the base of each leaf where its stem connects to the tree.  This layer gradually closes the veins that carry fluids in and out of the leaf.  These clogged veins trap sugars in the leaf and promote production of pigments called anthocyanins that give the leaf color.  Once this separation layer is complete and the connecting tissues are sealed off, the leaf is ready to fall due to wind, rain or gravity.

Adapted from U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normally green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs.  For a few weeks in the autumn season, trees change from green to different colors that range from red to yellow. 

This phenomenon is commonly called "fall colors" or "autumn colors," while the expression "fall foliage" usually indicates the viewing of a forest whose leaves have undergone the change.  In some areas of the United States and Canada, "leaf peeping" tourism in the autumn is a major source of economic activity.

Adapter from Wikipedia

This site contains original photography, much of which was taken in the Little Wolf Nature Preserve.