ATMOSPHERE 287 



The rose-colored illumination of the snowfields on 

 high mountains opposite the setting sun, called ' Alpen 

 Gluehn ' or 'Alpine Glow ' in Switzerland and which con- 

 stitutes one of the beauties of snow-clad mountains, we 

 had in great perfection on several occasions. I had pre- 

 viously attempted to make comparisons of the colors of 

 the ' Alpine Glow ' as seen in different regions. The 

 earlier observations are recorded only in memory, but of 

 later ones careful notes were taken at the time of observa- 

 tion. 



As seen on the snows of the Rocky Mountains and on 

 the mountains of southern California in winter and under 

 clear skies, the glows, as I remember them, were more 

 distinctly rose-red in color and more luminously brilliant 

 than in any I have seen elsewhere. On the lofty peaks of 

 the Cascade Range later in the season and when the smoke 

 of forest fires prevails, they are much less luminous and 

 the colors much duller, sometimes appearing maroon 

 or even brown in the smoky air. I have seen very similar 

 colors on the Bernese Alps, viewed from Interlaken, dur- 

 ing a very dry time in autumn. 



From various points of view we had these glows of 

 exceeding beauty on the mountains along the coast and 

 on the islands, and their colors were carefully noted dur- 

 ing their occurrence, from the time when the first blush 

 of rose began to appear until all the color was quenched 

 in the twilight. The year before I had exceptionally good 

 opportunities of making similar observations in Switzer- 

 land and to note in the same way the glows on the snow- 

 fields of the Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa groups, and 

 thus can the better compare the impressions as to colors 

 and beauty, between the phenomena as seen in the dust- 

 less and smokeless air of the Alaska coast, and the effects 

 in the dustier and smokier air of Switzerland. The color 

 effects in Alaska were the more beautiful, the colors more 



