Badlands Mirage

I was watching the sunrise the other morning from our guest bedroom window and just before the sun broke the horizon I could see what looked like the badlands. Impossible, I thought, since the badlands are 90 miles away as the crow flies. It must be some kind of weird cloud or fog formation, so I took this picture and did a little research. Now Iā€™m not so sure.

WARNING NERD ALERT!

There is a phenomenon known as refraction that bends light rays similar to what happens when light passes through a prism, allowing the us to see the other side of the horizon. It depends on getting the right atmospheric conditions and the angle of the sun relative to the observer.

What do you think? anybody else ever have a similar experience?

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