Arizona Sunsets

By AZ Leisure Staff Writers

Arizona is renowned for its spectacular sunsets and sunrises. Other than tropical regions, the deserts are noted for creating some of the most colorful real life art works of nature. No where else in the world can claim such brilliant and colorful sunsets. It is our pleasure to bring you this assortment of gorgeous sunset pictures and sunrises from all corners of Arizona's astounding landscape. These portraits of mother nature are presented for your viewing enjoyment only and ownership of all images remain with the copyright holder.

Random Sunsets in Arizona

Sedona Arizona Sunsets By Mike Koopsen

This collection of sunsets in Sedona AZ are compliments of Sedona-based landscape photographer, Mike Koopsen. His premium items and photo prints are available here.

How Sunsets and Sunrises Are Created

Contrary to myth, dust accumulation does not cause uniquely colorful sunsets. It it did, some of the most polluted areas such as Mexico City would also have brilliant sunsets. Actually it is clean air combined with high clouds that creates these breathtaking scenes.

Sunlight is comprised of a wide spectrum of colors ranging from violets and blues at one end of the spectrum to oranges and reds at the other end. Sunlight takes a much longer path through the atmosphere during the early morning and late evening than it does during other times of the day. Along the way, more violet and blue tones are scattered from the sun beams. When sunlight reaches the lower levels of the atmospherein the evening, the warmer colors of oranges and reds more readily reaches the human eye.

During the day, the sky is mostly blue and sunsets are mostly "reddened" which is why during the earliest part of the evening, we see the combined colors of blues and violets along with oranges and reds. The best sunsets occur when there are high scattered clouds since they are "hit" by the suns rays before passing through to the atmosphere's lower levels where the air has more particles. The reddened spectrum tones are actually filtered through at the high cloud's level.

In regions where there is heavy pollution with particles of dust are widely scattered in varying sizes, the wavelengths of sunlight are muted more to the middle colors of the spectrum which will "soften" the sky's colors as opposed to the desert areas where the spectrum of colors are more clearly defined by the time they reach the human eye.

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