Why does this river just turn red (pic included)?

Question

i know, probably the wrong section. i hate that part!

Answer 1

You probably photoshopped it or there's a distortion in the light.

Answer 2

This is photographic colour distortion. Can you pick up the edges  of the different sections of the photograph?.

Answer 3

No worries...you're in the right section.

You're just seeing a 'seam' in the mosaic.

Google Earth is basically just a large mosaic of aerial/satellite images 'patched' together.  Most of the images have been collected from local and federal agencies (forest service, geological survey, etc)...GE does not take them.  Not all of these images are taken at the same time of year (or even in the same year).  GIS specialists put these mosaics together using the clearest images available (no clouds, no snow, sufficient sunlight, etc.).

In the image that you've shown, two seasons can be identified.  The upper portion of the image was taken during the spring.  The lower portion of the image looks to be from the late fall (no leaves on the trees).

In the upper portion of the image, the river appears red due to the high amount of silt, clay, and organic debris that is transported during spring runoff.

***Edit:  I looked at it again...there are actually four separate images taken during different part of the year.  You can even see snow in the little grey sliver on the left side of the image.  Look around Google Earth...this is VERY common is areas of low resolution.

Answer 4

the link leads u to a site that is under construction