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Thursday 7 July 2011
On the way down I noticed a spiny lizard basking on a stone. When I came closer, it ran to the other side of the stone. So I carefully moved closer, and then leaned over the stone to take a photo. Those lizards are easily scared, and most of the time we notice them just because of the noise they make when they run away between dry leaves and twigs, and the sudden movement they make. Often when we stand still for a little, the lizard or lizards reappear and look around if the danger has gone, often bobbing their heads.
After some time we arrived back at the canyon slope we had originally climbed. I took a photo from the edge, and when I reviewed it, I noticed that the pool at the bottom of the waterfall was partially visible in it (in the center of the above photo). From where we were standing we had a good view at the opposite fern and other plants covered canyon wall.
Esme and I climbed the slope of the canyon, which to us appeared more like a hill, covered with coffee plants. To the right we could see the huge drop the canyon made, and the tree covered canyon floor and slopes, a magnificent view.
Green plants are green because they contain a pigment called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll absorbs certain wavelengths of light within the visible light spectrum. As shown in detail in the absorption spectra, chlorophyll absorbs light in the red (long wavelength) and the blue (short wavelength) regions of the visible light spectrum. Green light is not absorbed but reflected, making the plant appear green.
Chlorophyll is found in the chloroplasts of plants. There are various types of chlorophyll structures, but plants contain chlorophyll a and b. These two types of chlorophyll differ only slightly, in the composition of a single side chain
We continued climbing. We had 2 more miles to go to reach the summit now. Soon we had our first view of the east summit and the saddle between the east and west summits. The forest now opened up as we walked along mostly level ground. We walked past streams fed from the melting snow on the north face of the west summit. There were patches of bright green plants, close to the water. The plants were about a foot in height and simply consisted of large leaves wrapped around themselves. Quite pretty. It added color to the landscape, which was becoming more barren as we climbed toward the summits. The east summit, in particular, looked almost completely devoid of life. -- just asmooth sandy summit reminiscent of parts of the climb up Lassen Peak.
Close-up of a coffee plant with many red coffee berries (drupes).
Esme picking coffee berries.
On our way down, walking between the many coffee plants, we picked some of theberries. They are nice to suck at once the skin has been removed, and a little refreshing.
Looking down into the canyon near Chavarillo.
A beautiful big green plant.
So we decided to walk back the way we had come, and climbed back up the slope of the canyon, and started on our way back, but decided to take a different route. One reason was that I had seen some stones and pieces of wood into that direction, and I wanted to look under some.
Looking down into the canyon near Chavarillo.
Why do some plants appear green?
Chlorophyll is found in the chloroplasts of plants. There are various types of chlorophyll structures, but plants contain chlorophyll a and b. These two types of chlorophyll differ only slightly, in the composition of a single side chain
One of the many green plants growing along the streams
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