FALL IN LOVE WITH GATLINBURG
Fall Color
Facts
Why are fall colors so remarkable in the Smokies? One reason is the park’s amazing diversity
of trees. Some 100 species of native trees live in the Smokies and the vast majority of these
trees are deciduous.
How do colors change? As summer ends, the green pigments in leaves deteriorate, giving
other colors a chance to shine. Carotenoids, the pigment that makes carrots orange and leaves
yellow, are exposed as the green fades. Reds and purples come from anthocyanins, a pigment
that is formed when sugars in leaves break down in bright autumn sunlight.
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FALL 2017 | VACATIONmode