Snow: Different Places, Different Times: Pink snow

» jerrib - Pink snow

Mary, here's the answer from the Olympic National Park Visitor Center:

We still have pink snow here in the Olympic Mountains! It is an algae that grows in the snow as it warms and melts a bit in the spring. It is usually called watermelon snow. The algae stays dormant on the ground through the rest of the year, waiting until the snow is wet enough, temperatures are warm enough, and there is enough light, then it "swims" up toward the surface and "blooms".

Feel free to contact us again if you have further questions.

Olympic National Park Visitor Center
3002 Mount Angeles Road
Port Angeles, WA 98362

-- posted by jerrib