“Fata Morgana” is, according to Wikipedia, “an unusual and complex form of superior mirage that is seen in a narrow band right above the horizon.” Also from Wikipedia:
“Fata Morgana mirages significantly distort the object or objects on which they are based, often such that the object is completely unrecognizable.”
and
“The optical phenomenon occurs because rays of light are bent when they pass through air layers of different temperatures in a steep thermal inversion where an atmospheric duct has formed.”
It is not especially unusual to observe some weird effects of light refraction in the distance from San Nicolas Island. There is frequently a marine-related temperature inversion in the lowest several hundred feet above the ocean waters. Sometimes the distant islands and mainland mountains don’t look quite right, sometimes with flat tops like a mesa in Utah. If the inversion is especially low and strong, and visibilities are excellent, then the “Fata Morgana” phenomenon can be quite pronounced.
On this day, late in the afternoon on San Nicolas Island, I noticed that Santa Barbara Island had a goofy look to it. The strong inversion was doing a number on the light! Santa Barbara Island is the closest landmass to San Nicolas Island, and is 30 miles to the northeast. Visibility was very good, following a morning of shallow fog banks above the coastal waters. I zoomed in with my 200mm lens on Santa Barbara Island and took the shot that you see here. About ten minutes later and from a slightly higher spot, the illusion, or effect, was not nearly as pronounced. FYI, I was shooting from an elevation of about 500 feet above sea level, and the highest elevation of Santa Barbara Island is about 600 feet.
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