Layered Mountains, Sunset, Victoria Australia

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This photograph shows detail in the closer mountains but looking through more air and haze as the distance increases makes the distant ones look like paper cutouts layered upon one another.

The haze blanketing this scene is commonly attributed to the area’s eucalyptus forests. The oil in these highly flammable trees emits volatile terpenoids that cause the haze. Eucalypts, which encompass over 800 different tree species, are iconic Australian forest trees. This forest type is by far the most common in Australia. In this instance the haze caused by the trees is amplified by smoke from a controlled burn that is quite far away and outside the park.