37 places with their own usual window · USGS elevations

Elevation and peak datesfall foliage

Does fall color peak earlier higher up?

Across the 37 fall places with their own usual window, latitude lines up with timing much more than elevation does: northern places peak first. South of 37°N, higher places usually peak earlier: the 6 above 2,000 ft have a middle date around Oct 15, the 5 below around Nov 3. North of 42°N, higher places usually peak earlier: the 1 above 2,000 ft have a middle date around Oct 1, the 11 below around Oct 8. 37–42°N: no clear order by elevation.

Checked Sep 28. Sources (4)

Elevation against the middle of each usual window

Higher up the chart = earlier

South of 37°N
37–42°N
North of 42°N
one window shared by several places

Each dot is one place: across, the elevation at the point we map (USGS); up and down, the middle of its own usual window. Tap a dot for the place.

Sources (26)

By latitude

Rank correlation of elevation with the middle date

South of 37°N
11 places
6 above 2,000 ft: middle ~Oct 15 · 5 below: ~Nov 3 · correlation -0.84
37–42°N
14 places
7 above 2,000 ft: middle ~Oct 8 · 7 below: ~Oct 20 · correlation -0.54
North of 42°N
12 places
1 above 2,000 ft: middle ~Oct 1 · 11 below: ~Oct 8 · correlation -0.76

Not on the chart: 118 places

Only statewide or regional timing, not their own

Show the 118 places left out

Allegany State Park, New York · statewide timing
Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania · one spot's timing
Antietam · statewide timing
Apostle Islands · statewide timing
Aroostook State Park, Maine · statewide timing
Au Sable River · months only
Babcock State Park · no timing
Backbone State Park, Iowa · no timing
Bald Eagle State Park, Pennsylvania · statewide timing
Bear Mountain and West Point, New York · statewide timing
Big South Fork · statewide timing
Black Canyon · statewide timing
Black Moshannon State Park, Pennsylvania · statewide timing
Blackwater Falls State Park · no timing
Bradbury Mountain State Park, Maine · statewide timing
Bryce Canyon · regional timing
Cacapon Resort State Park · no timing
Caesars Head · no timing
Camden Hills State Park, Maine · statewide timing
Canaan Valley · no timing
Capitol Reef · regional timing
Cass Scenic Railroad · no timing
Catoctin Mountain · statewide timing
Cave Creek Canyon · months only
Cedar Breaks · regional timing
Chequamegon-Nicolet · statewide timing
Cook Forest State Park, Pennsylvania · statewide timing
Coopers Rock State Forest · no timing
Crawford Notch and Zealand Valley, New Hampshire · statewide timing
Cumberland Gap · months only
Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky · statewide timing
Delaware Water Gap · statewide timing
DeSoto State Park · statewide timing
Devils Fork · no timing
Effigy Mounds · no timing
F.D. Roosevelt State Park · no timing
Ferry Beach State Park, Maine · statewide timing
Finger Lakes National Forest, New York · statewide timing
Fort Frederick State Park · statewide timing
Gambrill State Park, Maryland · statewide timing
Glacier · months only
Grafton Notch State Park, Maine · statewide timing
Great Basin · months only
Great Bay Refuge · months only
Great Dismal Swamp Refuge · months only
Green Mountain National Forest, Vermont · no timing
Greenbrier State Park, Maryland · statewide timing
Guanella Pass · regional timing
Hat Creek Rim · statewide timing
Hawks Nest State Park · no timing
Hiawatha National Forest, Michigan · months only
Hoosier National Forest, Indiana · statewide timing
Hyner View State Park, Pennsylvania · statewide timing
Iroquois Refuge · months only
Ithaca, New York · statewide timing
Jay Peak, Vermont · no timing
Jones Gap · no timing
Kaiser Pass Road · months only
Katahdin Woods and Waters · months only
Killington, Vermont · no timing
Kings Mountain · no timing
Kinzua Bridge State Park, Pennsylvania · statewide timing
Lacey-Keosauqua State Park, Iowa · no timing
Lake George, New York · statewide timing
Lake Placid, New York · statewide timing
Lake Willoughby, Vermont · no timing
Lakewood · statewide timing
Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania · statewide timing
Laurel Hill State Park, Pennsylvania · statewide timing
Ledges State Park, Iowa · no timing
Lemhi Pass · months only
Letchworth State Park, New York · statewide timing
Lily Bay State Park, Maine · statewide timing
Little Pine State Park, Pennsylvania · statewide timing
Lost Horse Canyon · regional timing
Mammoth Cave · months only
Manchester, Vermont · no timing
McKenzie Pass · statewide timing
Mount Blue State Park, Maine · statewide timing
Mount Rainier · months only
Mount Shasta · statewide timing
Mountain Loop Highway · statewide timing
Mt. Hood · statewide timing
Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina · statewide timing
Natchez Trace Parkway, Mississippi · months only
Natchez Trace Parkway, Tennessee · months only
New York City · statewide timing
Niagara Falls, New York · statewide timing
North-South Lake, New York · statewide timing
Occoquan Bay Refuge · months only
Oconee State Park · no timing
Ohiopyle State Park, Pennsylvania · statewide timing
Paris Mountain · no timing
Parker River Refuge · months only
Pine Creek Gorge, Pennsylvania · statewide timing
Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire · statewide timing
Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina · statewide timing
Rangeley Lake State Park, Maine · statewide timing
Rocky Mountain · months only
Saint Croix Riverway · statewide timing
Saratoga Springs, New York · statewide timing
Shawnee National Forest, Illinois · statewide timing
Sinnemahoning State Park, Pennsylvania · statewide timing
Smugglers’ Notch, Vermont · statewide timing
Spearfish Canyon · months only
Stowe, Vermont · statewide timing
Superior National Forest, Minnesota · statewide timing
Table Rock · no timing
Talladega National Forest, Alabama · statewide timing
Thousand Islands, New York · statewide timing
Valles Caldera · months only
Voyageurs · months only
Waterville Valley, New Hampshire · statewide timing
Western Catskills, New York · statewide timing
White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire · statewide timing
Wind River · statewide timing
Woodstock, Vermont · statewide timing
Yellowstone · months only

Questions people ask

Do higher places always turn first?

Not always. South of 37°N, higher places usually peak earlier: the 6 above 2,000 ft have a middle date around Oct 15, the 5 below around Nov 3. Across all 37 places, latitude matters more (rank correlation -0.57 with the middle date, against -0.32 for elevation).

Which places are left out?

The 118 fall places that only have a statewide or regional timing line: a state's line isn't that place's own timing, so plotting it would mislead. They're listed under the chart.

Whose elevation is it?

The elevation at the point we map for each place (USGS), not its highest peak. A big park spans thousands of feet.