Indian Paintbrush
September 08, 2010
Photographer: JoEtta Abo
Summary Author: JoEtta Abo; Jim Foster
The photo above showing a palette of arresting wildflower and sunset colors was taken in an alpine meadow atop Mount Harrison, Idaho. Mount Harrison is located in the Albion Range of Cassia County, Idaho and climbs to an elevation of 9,265 feet (2,824 m). Wildflowers were at their peak color when I visited here in early August. Due to the cold winter and spring, they bloomed a few weeks later this season than they normally do. Among these showy flowers are beardtongues (penstemon spp) and Christ's Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja christii) -- yellow to yellow-orange in color. This is the only known population in the world of these attention-getting perennials. Their extremely limited range extends just over just 200 acres (81 hectares). They were discover in 1950 by a John H. Christ, the first botanist to collect them, and designated as critically imperiled in 2005. Photo taken on August 7, 2010.
Photo details: Camera Maker: NIKON; Camera Model: E8800; Focal Length: 26.5mm (35mm equivalent: 104mm); Aperture: f/3.7; Exposure Time: 0.017 s (1/60); ISO equiv: 169; Exposure Bias: none; Metering Mode: Matrix; Exposure: program (Auto); White Balance: Auto; Flash Fired: Yes (Auto, red eye reduction mode); Color Space: sRGB.
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the Earth Science Picture of the Day!