This is the main center area of MachuPicchu. The "D" shaped structure near center is the Temple of the Sun. For some reason it was worthy of a complex curved wall, unlike all other surrounding structures.

It's been raining most of the day and it's paying off by making this typically smaller waterfall much more voluminous.

path through California Redwoods

Although this can commonly grow into a tree it is officially classified as a shrub (cotinus coggygria) from Eurasia, and a really cool shrub at that. This was my first encounter with one of these and I was delightfully amazed with its colours. The leaves were a grape-purple on the top side with a more common greenish underside. When the sunlight shown through the leaves, they lit up a brilliant red, adding another odd colour to this unparalleled plant. I made sure to capture this wonder of colour on a bright sunny day with an equal amount of leaves showing their upper and lower hues.

After the boiling hot mineral water oozes up from the earth, it eventually starts to cool and the mineral elements fall out of suspension. Since the edges are cooler than the middle, the sediment builds up a little perimeter wall one grain at a time. Over time, large cascading pools are created as they overflow and puddle to create more.

Sunset over ocean at Wailea, Maui