Why are the Blue Ridge Mountains blue? It’s a question I suppose I’ve vaguely wondered many times as I’m driving across North Carolina, but never thought to investigate until recently. I’m not sure why I’ve never thought to ask before. After all, their cerulean hues are startling as compared to any other mountain range, and the impression never gets old, no matter how many times I set eyes on it.
If you’ve ever been lucky enough to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway between Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah National Park, you’ll have been captivated by the layers of mountains that, depending on the season and the time of day, can appear as eggshell blue, turquoise or even dark indigo. The range of mountains, which extends some 550 miles from Pennsylvania to Georgia, is part of the greater Appalachian Mountains, one of the major mountain ranges in the US. As a whole, the Appalachians don’t appear blue, but the Blue Ridge Mountains, when seen from a distance, always do.
