Port Orford Headlands

Port Orford Head is the southern point of a huge sweeping arc of coastline bounded on the north by Cape Blanco. Looking south, the dome of Humbug Mountain emerges in the distance, as a new arc of Oregon coastline captures the imagination. Trails afford easy access to the entire headland, offering spectacular views in every direction. This photo was taken on February 2, 2012, on an idyllic winter day. Often its quite cold on these winter ventures but this day the temperature stayed in the mid-fifties till after sunset. It was quite unusual. Oh, you want to see the sunset?

The winter sky brings these shades of orange I don't think we see other times of year. The angle of the sun in relation to the earth, I think, creates some unique visual effects. The further north you go of course you experience the aurora borealis or northern lights caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere (thermosphere).