New England's Autumn Colors

Credit: Jacques Descloitres; MODIS team; NASA, Posted on: Friday, 6 October 2006, 06:46 CDT Download full size image

During the fall, the leaves of deciduous trees change color and then fall off in preparation for the winter season. In early autumn, when the season's first cold temperatures arrive, the forest canopy throughout the New England region transforms into a kaleidoscope of colors -- rich hues of yellows, reds, oranges and browns.

This image shows the region of North America spanning from the Canadian provinces of Quebec (upper left) and New Brunswick (upper right) down through the states of Maine, New Hampsire, Vermont, and Massachusetts (bottom).

Temperate deciduous forests experience different seasons. Their leaves change color and fall off in autumn and winter, and grow back in the spring to serve as the forests' mechanism for absorbing sunlight and carbon dioxide (for photosynthesis) throughout the spring and summer. This adaptation allows plants to survive cold winters.

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