Footprints of My Mind

 （photos and videos by my relative, used under authorization）        A full circular rainbow appeared at Hukou Waterfall in China! A photo can't show the full circle but a video can. (Click the arrow to view the video that was uploaded to YouTube)       Opposite to the common theory that full circular rainbow cannot be seen on land/ground as the land blocks its lower half, a full circular rainbow did really appear under the blue sky beside the cliff in the mist at Hukou Waterfall in China. The time was 4 September 2026, at 4:38 p.m. in the afternoon on the Shaanxi side of Hukou Waterfall, when the sun was shining from the back of the viewer towards the waterfall.               The narrow gully in Hukou (meaning like the narrow opening of a pot) confines the river water and causes a lot of water droplets splashing up, which create a mist above the waterfall, providing a backdrop for rainbows and even rainbow ...

(English summary at the bottom of this article. Translation function in the sidebar. Photos and videos used under authorization.  照片和錄像由原來拍攝者授權使用) 壺口瀑布出現在陸地上罕見的圓環形彩虹 circular rainbow or rainbow circle seen at Hukou Waterfall in China                 九月初，繼日前甘泉大峽谷和波浪谷之旅，親友再傳來位於山西省臨汾市吉縣與陝西省延安市宜川縣交界的‘千里黃河一壺收’ - 壼口瀑布的照片及錄像（在陜西宜川的壺口瀑布觀景區拍攝的，而不是到山西那邊的壺口瀑布觀景區），其中竟然有圓環形的彩虹，蔚為奇觀！照片不能盡錄，只有用 錄像拍攝圓環形的彩虹。        還以為網上有關壺口瀑布會有很多類似的環形彩虹錄像，但出乎意料，在Youtube未有發現！點擊箭頭，便可打開只有六秒的短片，看到陸地上罕見的環形彩虹了：        也許有人在壺口瀑布見過環形彩虹，但拍攝它並不容易，看過錄像可能會明白有多麼困難：        環形彩虹的形成，是因為瀑布水花噴發出來所形成的水霧，像舞台的背景佈幕，當陽光照射水霧，如果我們站在適當位置和用適當角度觀看，便會看到完完整整的圓環形彩虹！        如錄像/照片所見，當拍攝者拿著鏡頭向着水霧拍攝（水霧可能亦要夠多、夠高、範圍夠大），水點正不斷打向人和鏡頭，因此拍攝過程中，要忍受水花曬面和全身濕透，亦需不停抹乾鏡頭，穩定地舉高手‘高抄’（從高位向下拍攝）。 以下是發現環形彩虹的前奏 - 四份三個彩虹在崖邊：        和親友詳談，憶述發現環形彩虹的經過，如上一段錄像所見，他是因為先看見有3/4的彩虹，便推測可能會有完整的環形彩虹，於是在現場不斷調整自己的位置去觀察水霧。 最終，皇天不負有心人，他終於在某位...

English Summary  The Ganquan Canyon is a  famous touristic place in Shaanxi, northern China. The history dated back to Jurassic era. There are several scenic gorges in Ganquan Canyon. The following photos illustrate the varieties of colors in a narrow gully called Birch Valley (樺樹溝), which is famous for light and colors. All photos are taken with automatic mode by a smartphone, without alterations in late August, 2026. Birch Valley is in Ganquan Canyon in Shaanxi,  northern China                 日前親友傳來在 陜西 省 延安 市 甘泉大峽谷 的 樺樹溝 所拍攝的照片，渾然天成，驚為天岩，幅幅照片，充滿線條感和對比強烈的視覺效果，好像藝術家的名畫。取景角度和構圖，加上手機高清鏡頭的細緻和清晰度，成為絕配： The Birch Valley -  a person walking inside showed how deep the slit gully is 樺樹溝 - 還以為自己眼花！ 照片中那一黑點， 真的是一個人走入溝內尋幽探秘！ 從這人的高度， 可想而知岩壁有多麼高聳！        上網查看 樺樹溝 的介紹資料，指 樺樹溝 所在的 甘泉大峽谷 ，屬於丹霞地貌。正如'丹霞地貌'這名稱所形容，成份是赭紅色（丹）的砂岩。        不過，為什麼照片會那麼多色彩，而不單是紅色的呢？而且，岩石似千層糕，呈現一層層的紋理像水成岩？ the walls are rugge...

       From 2017 to early 2018, it's the time when I enjoyed watching lots of sunrise. The spectacular scenery that I saw during that period of time were, e.g. clouds that resembled a golden sword or a line of clouds piercing the sun (blogs on 6 Nov 2017 and 18 Jan 2018). It's a pity that I have not seen such special scenery again.         This year, I have not seen the golden clouds on Winter Solstice nor a 'Christmas present' from the nature. Unexpectedly, on the last two days of 2023, I received the year-end gift finally with  wonderful memories. At about the same time, depending on the clouds, the scenery was different.        Yesterday, I saw the golden clouds lit up by the sun, which resembled golden  lasagna.        This morning, a thin line of clouds was piercing through the sun, like a golden sword that cut through the sky. 2017年至2018年初， 是我欣賞日出最豐收的時期； 那時見過的奇景， 好像「金劍」及「一線雲穿日」（見6/11/201...

Are there golden color in the nature?  How about golden clouds? Since 2017, I have seen golden clouds scattered in the sky every year from autumn to early winter, i.e. from November to December.  Today, I was waken up by the morning sunshine. The golden scattered clouds  appeared like soldiers of an army lining up. The following photos recorded the changing scenery at different times, and golden clouds in various years for comparison. Besides crepuscular rays, golden clouds are another beauty creation of the Creator. Cirrocumulus clouds are thin, the sunray shines through them and they are golden only for about ten minutes. After that, they will turn silvery white as the angle of the sun is higher, i.e. the sun has risen higher up. P.S. later observations confirmed my inference that if the lower angle sunrise rays were blocked by clouds, golden clouds will not appear in the sky. Golden clouds high up in the sky only appear when low angle sunrise rays are not blocked....