78 



THE OPAL SEA 



Effect of 

 lemperaiure 

 on color. 



opaque the local coloring; and as for the pearl 

 and opal tints they are practically lost. Often- 

 times at sunset or sunrise a muddy sea will 

 flash light like a diamond and yet completely 

 fail to flash color. 



The quality of coloring both in the original 

 and in the reflection is also greatly influenced 

 by the density of the atmosphere and by tem- 

 perature. The clear white light of the polar 

 regions favors sharp colors, which instead of 

 blending together hold aloof and keep their in- 

 dividuality. There the aerial envelope does 

 not bind all hues in a golden thrall, but allows 

 the blues and reds and greens to glow intense. 

 In the morning and evening, when the sun's 

 rays strike the sea obliquely, there are long 

 trailing tracks of sunlight — sometimes yellow 

 and sometimes red — twisting and writhing on 

 the uneasy M^aters. As for the twilight reflec- 

 tions in the water, they are vivid in reds that 

 are all scarlet, as the moonlights and midnights 

 are weird in blues that are all purple. 



But the thin polar air, with its consequent 

 white light, is not favorable to the most per- 

 fect color harmony. It is too crude, too lim- 

 ited in its scale. On the contrary, sunlight fall- 

 ing through a heated atmosphere seems to be 

 shivered into very delicate colors that blend 



Color in 



polar 



reoiona. 



