Picture of the day - October 23, 2007

"Smoky Mountain Morning"

Photo courtesy of John Hooper. Photographer John Hooper submitted today's picture which features a beautiful mountain vista at Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The image was captured early in the morning, and it certainly appears that the mountains were living up to their name at the time! "The Smokies" are a section of the Appalachian Mountain Range straddling the Tennessee/North Carolina border. The "smoke" that gives the mountains their name isn't really smoke at all. It is a natural haze caused by a combination of a high concentration of hydrocarbons (produced by the trees and extremely thick vegetation) and higher-than-normal humidity. There are many popular attractions and an abundance of spectacular scenery in and around the Smokies, the greatest of which is Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most-visited National Park in the country due to its relative proximity to much of the population of the Eastern and Midwestern United States. If you ever have a chance to visit the Smokies and check them out for yourself, be sure to bring along a camera because you'll find plenty of photographic opportunities awaiting you when you get there! Mr. Hooper shot this wonderful image handheld using a Canon XT Digital SLR and a Tamron 70-300 4-5.6 zoom lens equipped with a Hoya Skylight filter.   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!            Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"