Want to take a drive to see the BEAUTIFUL FALL COLORS?
Check out this map along with a few helpful links to help you plan your trip ...
*Click on the map for more information
Best Fall Foliage Web Cams ( http://forestry.about.com/od/fallcolor/a/fall_web_cams.htm). This website is devoted specifically to those web cams that show excellent fall foliage color.
Fall Color Forecaster Map (http://biology.appstate.edu/biology/fall-color-report/fall-color-map-north-carolina). Slide the leaf along the dates at the bottom. As you move through the dates, the map will highlight those parts of the state coming into peak color, followed by a browning, which indicates they are past their peak.
Fall Color Guy on(Facebook). This is my facebook page to discuss all things related to fall leaf color, leaves in general, and trees. During peak fall color season, we have over 8,000 hits per week!
Fall Color in the Smokies (http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/fallcolor.htm). This is the official fall color site for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It contains information about when and where to see fall colors in the Park.
Fall Color on Blue Ridge Parkway (http://www.virtualblueridge.com/color-reports/). A really great website for fall foliage color reports can be found at the Blue Ridge Parkway Guide by Virtual Blue Ridge:. They update frequently, and have archived reports from the past and they cover the entire 470 miles of the Parkway.
Fall Foliage Maps by the Weather Channel - This site, posted by the Weather Channel, provides coarse resolution data on the progression of peak fall color across the entire United
States. It's very useful if you're thinking of traveling to another state to view their fall color.
Here is the link: http://www.weather.com/activities/driving/fallfoliage/
National Phenology Website (USA National Phenology Network) - Published by the USGS, this site tracks phenological changes in plants and animals across the United States. Phenology is the study of the timing of life cycle events in plants and animals, so the timing of fall color would be one example of a phenological event. The purpose of this site is to determine if phenologies are changing in response to global warming.
NCNatural (Fall Foliage Facts) - Information courtesy of NCNatural. (Note: Discount the statement that the fall colors have no function!!)
New Evolutionary Theory for Fall Leaf Colors (Hamilton's Fall) – An excellent essay on a new theory from the evolutionary theorist Bill Hamilton, that fall leaf colors are a way to deter insects from trees in the autumn. Written by science writer Carl Zimmer, Discover, 18 December 2003.
Nitrogen Deficiency May Lead to Brighter Red Colors in Autumn (Leaves' Fall Colors Have "Dirty" Secret, Study Finds) - by Richard A. Lovett, National Geographic News, 30 October 2007. Includes information from Emily Habinck's undergraduate research project at University of North Carolina at Charlotte that correlated sites with low nitrogen and more red colors in autumn.
Science of Autumn Colors (The United States National Arboretum: The Science of Color in Autumn Leaves). An excellent site describing the science of autumnal colors from the National Arboretum in Washington, DC.
Science of Fall Colors from USFS (Why Leaves Change Color) - Information from the U.S. Forest Service on why leaves change color in autumn.
Science of Fall Leaf Colors (Why Leaves Change Colors). An excellent website from a commercial flower source that discusses why and how leaves change colors in the fall in an easily understood and entertaining manner. The site also contains linkages to other fall color sites, including those demonstrating simple experiments that students can do. Highly recommended!
The Foliage Network (http://foliagenetwork.com/). This is a New England based fall foliage site that provides information on the progression of fall foliage color throughout the eastern, southern and
midwestern United States.
US Forest Service Fall Leaf Color Webpages (http://www.fs.fed.us/fallcolors/2013/). This website from the USFS highlights those areas across the country, from Alaska to Hawai’i, where fall leaf colors are peaking.
Visitor Guide to the High Country, Boone, NC (Explore Boone Area). A visitor's guide to the High Country in and around Boone, NC
Webcams of North Carolina (http://www.highcountrywebcams.com/). One way to see fall colors without actually driving somewhere is to view the many webcams that are situated throughout the state. This webpage has links to many webcams in western North Carolina, and in other states. Note that some cameras are of higher quality and provide a better image than others. Also, the time of day you view the webcams can affect your perception of the intensity of the fall colors. Nonetheless, this is a useful site.
Weekly Fall Color Reports for NC (Weekly Fall Color Reports) - Presented by the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development.
*Map Conceived by Howard Neufeld and Michael Denslow
*Map Constructed by Michael Denslow of the Department of Biology at ASU
*Excerpts and information taken from App State Biology Department Website
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