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Finding good leaves to photograph in New Mexico is easy for some and hard for others.  We have almost no leaves that turn red in the fall.  There are some red leaves on ornamental trees and shrubs but few in the wild.  Every year fourth of July canyon, south of Albuquerque, gets very busy in the fall because it is one of the few places with enough moisture to support a stand of maple trees.

River bottoms (Bosque) are the home of the native cottonwood (Populus fremonti) trees and put on a teriffic display of yellow fall leaves.  The color change starts in the northern part of the state and moves south.  Thus you can pick out areas which have the right combination of scenery and background and plan picture taking trips.

Fall in New Mexico tends to be very dry ( That's why they schedule the International Balloon Fiesta then.) with clear blue skies.  The blue sky makes a great backdrop for the cottonwood leaves.

Late Sept. or early Oct. is also when the aspen (Populus tremuloides) change color.  The aspen on the mountains NE of Santa Fe, NM are very popular place to visit.  The highest elevatons change first and the color change gradually moves down the mountain. 

Aspen grow from root suckers and areas 100 or more feet in diameter which have grown from the same rootstock are called clones.  Each clone responds to the changes in temperature and photoperiod on its own schedule.  As a result the aspen forest becomes a patchwork of colors. 

For reasons we don't understand, although possibly related to disease or mineral availability, some aspen leaves develop a red color.  It is never anything like a stand of New England maples though.

This website displays only a few of our collection of leaf pictures.  At Walking Rain Gallery we have more, as well as many pictures of other subjects.  Clicking links on this site will take you to the leaf category of Walking Rain Gallery.