"Utah Mountains Turn Red with Watermelon Snow"
Utah's Cache County mountains have turned pink, red, and orange due to a natural phenomenon called watermelon snow caused by naturally occurring algae. The algae produce a pigment that darkens their cells, protecting them from UV rays and absorbing heat, which melts the snow around them, allowing them to access water. The research is in its infancy, but scientists are working to figure out how much of Utah's snowpack melts as a result of algae and what can be done to prevent it from becoming a problem.