Saco Heath, Maine
October 27, 2015
Photographer: John Stetson
Summary Author: John Stetson
The Saco Heath in Maine includes a pitch pine bog, a raised level bog, and the most northerly Atlantic white cedar bog in the United States. Shown above are the fall colors of sugar maple leaves (including ones with maple leaf galls -- at left center and bottom center) on a sphagnum matte in the Saco Heath. Sphagnum has several interesting qualities including its capacity to retain water. This is of course important for controlling erosion. The floating vegetation in the heath fills in from the surface, whereas ponds fill in from the bottom. Sphagnum also creates an acidic environment that retards the growth of bacteria; it was used to dress wounds up until WWI. In a few hundred million years it may become coal. As such, it's a carbon sink. Photo taken on October 10, 2015.
Photo Details: Camera: Apple iPhone 6 Plus; Focal Length: 4.2mm (35mm equivalent: 29mm); Aperture: ƒ/2.2; Exposure Time: 0.033 s (1/30); ISO equiv: 32; Software: Adobe Photoshop CS4 Macintosh.
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