San Francisco (TAN): What are summers without watermelons? But watermelon snow? Now, that is something unique. Yosemite National Park in the United States recently welcomed visitors to a special sight – pink snow, also known as watermelon snow.
The national park said the ‘reddish colored snow’ was not abnormal. In fact, it can often be found at elevations higher than 9,500 feet when snow at that altitude sometimes appear pink or even red during the summer months.
The reddish tint comes from a type of cold-loving green algae which contains a red pigment. It uses the pigment as a ‘natural sunscreen, protecting itself from too much heat and damaging UV radiation’. The pigment reportedly dyes the snow a darker shade to shield the algae’s chlorophyll.
The national park shared images of the phenomenon on Twitter, saying even though it is August, there is still plenty of snow and ice in the region, and that midsummer is reportedly the best time to see the watermelon snow.
However, experts warned tourists against eating it.
“Although it probably isn’t harmful to eat, we certainly don’t recommend it,” Public Affairs Officer, Yosemite National Park, Scott Gediman was quoted by Today as saying.
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Located in California state’s Sierra Nevada mountains, Yosemite National Park is known for the iconic Bridalveil Fall, the granite cliffs of Al Capitan and Half Dome, and its giant, ancient sequoia trees.
