White Tank Mountains Gallery

To secure a representative gallery of observed air quality conditions for each scene monitoring site, a series of images are selected from the period of record and archived in several resolutions as an Image Gallery set.

The series of images making up the historical image gallery typically consists of:

Image spectrum consisting of a series of Excellent to Very Poor regional haze conditions, corresponding to deciview increments of the Visibility Index scale.
Seasonal images representative of pristine, scenic, or meteorological interest.
Unique representations of layered haze, regional haze, or pollution episodes of significant importance.

The White Tank Mountains image gallery was last updated in May 2004. Check this page again for future updates.

Image Spectrum

The following images have been selected to represent regional haze conditions corresponding to the Excellent to Very Poor categories of the Visibility Index Scale.

Excellent
A clean December day with excellent visibility throughout the Phoenix monitoring region.
Good
Typical good visibility day in November with a slight milky appearance of regional haze over the White Tank Mountains monitoring vista.
Fair
Typical fair visibility day in November with a moderate appearance of regional haze over the White Tank Mountains monitoring vista.
Poor
Poor visibility day in November with significant regional haze throughout the White Tank Mountains monitoring vista.
Very Poor
Very Poor visibility day in March with significant enough regional haze throughout the vista that the White Tank Mountains are barely visible.

Seasonal Images

The following images are representative of pristine, scenic, or meteorological observances of interest.

Pristine

December 16, 2003, 1:15 p.m.
Example of excellent visibility representative of the White Tank Mountains monitoring vista.
Pristine

November 27, 2003, 2:00 p.m.
Example of excellent visibility representative of the White Tank Mountains monitoring vista.
Scenic

November 2, 2003, 5:30 p.m.
Scenic dusk lighting image of the White Tank Mountains monitoring vista.
Scenic

December 26, 2003, 1:00 p.m.
Example of a scenic day with excellent visibility for the White Tank Mountains monitoring vista.
Scenic

December 26, 2003, 2:30 p.m.
Example of a scenic day with excellent visibility for the White Tank Mountains monitoring vista.
Scenic

February 5, 2004, 7:00 a.m.
Example of a unique moon-set over the White Tank Mountains.

Unique White Tank Mountains Gallery Images

The following images are representative of observed layered haze, regional haze, or pollution episodes of significant importance.

Layered Haze

November 14, 2003, 7:00 a.m.
Representative ground-based layered haze impacting the Phoenix metro region, as seen from the White Tank Mountains monitoring vista, viewing 274° west.

Regional Haze

Regional Haze Event: February 24, 2004 through February 27, 2004

Representative regional haze event that impacted visibility, as seen from the Camelback Mountain monitoring vista.

February 24, 2004,
9:00 a.m.
February 25, 2004,
9:00 a.m.
February 26, 2004,
9:00 a.m.
February 27, 2004,
9:00 a.m.

Selected morning images depicting regional haze during a period of high relative humidity, February 24 through February 27, 2004. These images represent the White Tank Mountains monitoring vista, viewing 274° west.

Regional Haze Event: March 19, 2004 through March 22, 2004

Representative regional haze event that impacted visibility, as seen from the Camelback Mountain monitoring vista.

March 19, 2004,
1:30 p.m.
March 20, 2004,
1:00 p.m.
March 21, 2004,
8:00 a.m.
March 21, 2004,
9:00 a.m.
March 21, 2004,
10:15 a.m.
March 21, 2004,
12:00 p.m.
March 21, 2004,
1:00 p.m.
March 21, 2004,
3:30 p.m.
March 22, 2004,
10:45 a.m.

Selected images depicting a regional haze event that impacted visibility, as seen from the White Tank Mountains monitoring vista, viewing 274° west.

Pollution Episode

Blue River Complex Fire: July 13, 2003 through August 10, 2003

The 18,575-acre Blue River Complex fire included two lightning-caused fires and a blaze contained in June. The fire was located over 200 miles east of Phoenix and approximately 18 miles south of Alpine, Arizona. Smoke and reduced visibility that was observed from the White Tank Mountains Web camera during the containment phase of the fire is depicted in several 9:15 a.m. images below.

July 20, 2003,
9:15 a.m.
July 21, 2003,
9:15 a.m.
July 22, 2003,
9:15 a.m.
July 23, 2003,
9:15 a.m.
July 24, 2003,
9:15 a.m.
July 30, 2003,
9:15 a.m.
July 31, 2003,
9:15 a.m.
August 1, 2003,
9:15 a.m.
August 2, 2003,
9:15 a.m.

Note: All White Tank Mountains images collected during this time contain a digital camera defect (purple streak). The camera was replaced in early 2004.

Pollution Episode

Southern California Wildfire Impacts: October 26 through November 9, 2003

In October of 2003, Southern California experienced the most devastating wildland fire disaster in state history. Over 750,000 acres burned. Smoke from the wildfires caused unhealthy levels of particulate pollution in a large expanse of Southern California and the Southwestern United States. Visibility in the Phoenix region was noticeably impacted from October 26 through November 9, 2003.

Below are selected 3:15 p.m. images depicting visibility conditions observed from the White Tank Mountains Web camera from October 29 through November 1, 2003.

October 29, 2003,
3:15 p.m.
October 30, 2003,
3:15 p.m.
October 31, 2003,
3:15 p.m.
November 1, 2003,
3:15 p.m.

Pollution Episode

Local Excavation Impacts: April 21, 2004 through May 10, 2004

April 21, 2004,
1:00 p.m.
April 21, 2004,
2:00 p.m.
May 7, 2004,
1:00 p.m.
May 10, 2004,
11:30 a.m.
May 10, 2004,
3:00 p.m.

Excavation activities stirred up particulates in close proximity to both the Estrella Mountains and White Tank Mountains (above) Web cameras for several days in April and May. The above images depict resulting visibility conditions from the White Tank Mountains Web camera, viewing 274° west.