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What Makes Our Coastal Sunsets So Gorgeous?

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To explain why our sunsets are so world-class, Warren notes that, for one, our coastal vistas are perfect for catching the green flash, a second of color before the sun dips away, possible because of the “distance horizon” and the occasional temperate inversion. 

But the real blockbuster is the orange-y gradients that drop jaws and inspire photo sprees when the sun bows behind Washington sea stacks. Since a clear day is rare over the ocean, scattered cumulus clouds often reflect red sunset light—the blue end of the spectrum is more scattered by the atmospheric molecules. 

Of course, says Warren, “It depends on what you think is beautiful.” 

Published in the Washington's Best Beaches issue of Seattle Met.











Allison Williams
Allison Williams
Since joining Seattle Met in 2011, Allison Williams has overseen the magazine’s travel and outdoor coverage, including deep dives into Olympic National Park, the Columbia River, and a Burger King drive-thru in Canada. She edits the travel-focused blog Tripster and contributes service, news, interview, and narrative pieces to the magazine, including long-form features about mountain mysteries and puppies in prison. She’s earned awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and been nominated for a City and Regional Magazine award.  Allison was raised here in Olympia and studied writing at Duke University, Oxford University, Columbia Journalism School, and University of Alaska. She began her career in New York City in the newsrooms of Metro newspaper and Time Out New York, then hightailed it back to her native habitat so she could write guidebooks and climb mountains.