A friend living in the foothills of the Chocolate Mountains (in California) sent me a photo of the extreme avalanche danger he faced in a snowstorm. There were lots of photos of lawns, rooftops and other surfaces that, if you squinted just right, had identifiable amounts of snow. (“Identifiable amount” means there is an accepted term: “trace amounts.”)
I wasn’t aiming for a competition, but I showed a recent photo I took, standing on a beach, at sea level (the best place for a beach to be), showing mountains with more than a trace amount of snow:
Aside from demonstrating the wonders of altitude and latitude, this was part of a larger discussion on water. California depends on snow runoff for water, and it doesn’t look like there will be much, if any, this year. This is bad news for crops, wildlife, and people.
