The peak of fall colors in Ottawa, Canada
The peak of fall colors in Ottawa, Canada. Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features the colorful leaves of fall in the Canadian capital of Ottawa. The peak of the autumn season is an event that is known locally as the “Fall Rhapsody.”
Just west of city in Gatineau Park, sugar maple leaves turn orange-red, while hickories turn golden-bronze.
Ottawa is located at the confluence of three important waterways: the Ottawa River, the Gatineau River, and the Rideau Canal. The peak of fall colors in Ottawa, Canada
The Ottawa River is a major source of fresh drinking water and connects to the Saint-Lawrence River further east. Various Indigenous peoples inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years before European colonization. Beginning in the 16th century, British and French expeditions explored and later settled along the Atlantic coast. As a consequence of various armed conflicts, France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763.
In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This widening autonomy was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster 1931 and culminated in the Canada Act 1982, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British Parliament.
The image was captured on October 14 by an astronaut onboard the International Space Station.
Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer
