In February of 1976, a freak snowstorm struck the San Francisco Bay area. At the time, I was living on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, at an altitude of about 250 metres above sea level, and woke up to discover about 10 centimetres of snow on the ground. I grabbed my camera and shot the above picture, which I've embellished, more than two decades later, with an image editing program.
The snow was a lot deeper than it looks in this picture. Most of the terrain in the field of view is covered with chaparral—tangled brushwood one to two metres in height which only caught the snow on leaves and twigs. Grassy fields, as in the foreground, were almost completely white.
The above picture, without the silly text, as well as other photos of the Great Marin County Snowstorm are available in the Snow on Mount Tamalpais photo album.
by John WalkerAll images referenced on this page are original photographs by John Walker, placed into the public domain. They may be used in any manner without permission, restriction, attribution, or compensation. Back links to Ski Marin are welcome.