December 19, 2000 Badlands National Park Mirage
The pictures seen below are a type of mirage that can be seen when the atmospheric conditions are right. For these pictures, the air temperatures was increasing as you go up from the surface. This mirage is referred to as "Fata Morgana," which is the Italian word for "Fairy Morgan." It is called this because of the legend of King Arthur's half-sister Morgan, "who was said to live in a crystal palace beneath the water, and had magical powers that could build fantastic castles out of thin air." Residents of Reggio, Italy would see these types of towers and turrets that are seen in the pictures below and hence came the phrase, "Fata Morgana." (History taken from "Meteorology Today" 5th Edition pg. 98 written by C. Donald Ahrens).
