Sweet!Just love the dreamy,muted look of the vermillion sea and cliffs.Beautiful!!! Thanks bajacalifornian!!!longlegsinlapaz - 12-15-2010 at 08:09 PM
Vermilion = "Its name is derived from the French vermeil which was used to mean any red dye, and
which itself comes from vermiculum, a red dye made from the insect Kermes vermilio. The word for
the color red in Portuguese (vermelho) and Catalan (vermell) derives from this term."......from
Wikipedia
Might I respectfully inquire if you're one of a large number of the male species who are colorblind?
According to my monitor & eyeballs, you might wanna rename this thread something along the lines of Suave Rosa Mar or possibly Suave Mauve
Mar....because it isn't anywhere close to vermilion red.DENNIS - 12-15-2010 at 08:16 PM
VERMILION SEA OF CALIFORNIA
Dr. M. W. Johnson, Professor of Marine biology,gives the answer to the riddle of why the Gulf of California is called "The Vermilion Sea".
The real cause for the color of the water is not the silt coming down from the Colorado River, but rather the presence of billions of tiny
microscopical one-celled animals, which are classified under the name 'Noctiluca' more specific 'Noctiluca miliaris'. Some of these produce light,
hence the name Noctiluca. These are spherical protozoa, about one milimeter in diameter of a faint pink color and possess a single, short, thick,
flagellum. When they float near the shores, often in inconceivable numbers, they give the ocean the appearance of diluted catsup. At night when
agitated by the waves, the minute dinoflagellates emit tiny flashes of light, and the sea takes on a magic glow, appearing at times like a spectacular
pyrotechnic display, especially when the waves strike partly submerged rocks or floating objects.
The Gulf of California is not the only part of the ocean which at times turn red. Dr. W. E. Allen, who was the Scripps Institution biologist *,
described occurrences of red water, one in LaJolla Bay, and three along the coast of Washington. He counted as many as 3,000,000 individual
dinoflagellates in a quart of water.
* Died 1947 - Age 73.24baja - 12-15-2010 at 09:48 PM
Lets not get picky over the use of a name, just breathe and enjoy the view or in my case....the photo. Thanks for posting the lovely vermillion
shaded sea!sanquintinsince73 - 12-15-2010 at 11:53 PM
Well is it red or not? Some guy Moses wants to part it.DENNIS - 12-16-2010 at 02:19 AM
Is the Colorado River red?? Maybe some parts are from iron in the soil....I dunno.
Before the dams, the Colorado River was really "red", from the silt out of Utah and Colorado and Wyoming eroding from the "Red Rock Country". The
dams stopped most of the floods, so that now it is red only during really wet years--- below the dams from the Gila River, and above the dams mostly
from the wild Yampa River in NE Utah/NW Colorado, and numerous smaller side streams in Utah.
The once mighty Colorado seldoms even approaches it's former Glory, but someday it will again and then watch out.
