19 breathtaking photos that reveal the mystical powers of fog

By Rebecca Harrington

2016-06-21T13:34:00Z

A world shrouded in fog is quiet. The phenomenon makes you feel like you have to whisper, or it might drift away.

Fog creeps in over the buildings in Maringa, Brazil.

But have you ever really thought about what fog is and how it forms?

Here's everything you need to know about the science of fog, accompanied by breathtaking photos of it enshrouding different parts of the world.

Fog is like a cloud that touches the ground.

fog — A woman photographs a sea of fog over Lake Leman at the Tour de Gourze near Lausanne, Switzerland on December 3, 2015. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

It forms when water vapor condenses to become liquid water droplets or ice crystals, suspended in the air.

fog — A bird flies in front of city sky scrapers covered by fog in the center of Warsaw, Poland on February 23, 2015. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

Source: NASA/NOAA

It has to be very humid out for there to be enough water in the air to form fog — near 100%.

fog — People walk along a forest as the sun shines over fog near Albis Pass mountain pass in Switzerland on November 12, 2015. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

Sources: National Geographic, Farmer's Almanac

You can see fog because of the condensed water in the air. You can't see water vapor, on the other hand, because it's a gas.

fog — A male deer roars in a field during the dawn near the village of Dobrovolya, Belarus on September 20, 2015. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

Source: National Geographic

Fog condenses around dust particles in the air.

fog — Fog shrouds Crystal Palace as a woman plays with her dog in London on November 2, 2015. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

Source: National Geographic

If it's polluted, fog will condense around that, too.

fog — City workers cross the Millennium footbridge over the River Thames on a misty morning in London on November 2, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Source: National Geographic

Sea fog condenses around the salt in the air from the ocean. The warm coastal air often collides with the colder water, forming fog.

fog — Layers of fog hover above the sand along Pacific Beach as a surfer makes his way out of the ocean in San Diego, California on January 20, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Source: National Geographic, NASA/NOAA

Morning fog is technically called radiation fog. It forms overnight as the ground cools the air above it. When the sun heats the ground during the day, the fog goes away.

fog — Light from the Federal Corrections Complex casts beams through morning fog in Butner, North Carolina on November 20, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake

Source: National Weather Service

Freezing fog forms when supercooled water droplets freeze instantly, often in subzero temperatures.

fog — A man rows a boat through a frosty fog along the Yenisei River in -4 degrees Fahrenheit outside Krasnoyarsk, Russia on November 17, 2015. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

Source: National Weather Service

Cooler mountain air drains down into valleys in the evening, causing fog there as the night progresses.

fog — Vehicles drive along the scenic Ou Kaapse Weg as seasonal fog covers the city in Cape Town, South Africa on May 29, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

Source: NASA/NOAA

When there are wildfires, super fog can form when the water in the air condenses around ash and smoke. It's particularly thick, with visibility under 10 feet.

fog — Kashmiri women carry baskets on their heads as they walk along the road amid dense fog on a cold morning in Srinagar on November 30, 2015. REUTERS/Danish Ismail

Source: NASA/NOAA

If the lighting's just right, you can see a rainbow in fog. Some call it a "fog bow."

fog — The top of Switzerland's highest skyscaper the Prime Tower peeps through the fog in front of the Swiss Alps, early morning in Zurich, Switzerland on December 7, 2015. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

Source: UK Met Office

The foggiest place in the US is Point Reyes, California, with over 200 fog days a year.

point reyes national seashore california flickr frank schulenburg ccbysa2 — A rock formation pokes out from fog that enshrouds McClures Beach at Point Reyes National Seashore in California. Frank Schulenburg/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Source: Farmer's Almanac

Fog can dampen the contrast of your surroundings, so it may seem like you're driving slower than you are.

fog — Cattle in the fog on a ranch at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon on January 8, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

Source: UK Met Office

The foggiest place in the world is over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland. It regularly sees 200 fog days a year, too.

fog — A woman walks with a child through a fog at a field at a makeshift camp for migrants and refugees at the Greek-Macedonian border near Idomeni, Greece on April 10, 2016. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

Source: UK Met Office

If you condensed all the water in enough fog to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool, you would only yield about a third of a gallon.

fog — A visitor walks among trees as she visits the West Lake amid thick fog and heavy smog in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, December 8, 2015. REUTERS/China Daily

Source: UK Met Office

If you can see less than 1,000 yards, it's fog. Any longer than that, and it's just mist.

north korean architecture — The 558-foot tall Juche Tower is reflected in Taedong River as morning fog blankets Pyongyang, North Korea on May 5, 2016. Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Source: The Cloudspotter's Guide: The Science, History, and Culture of Clouds

Fog has no consideration for monuments; it engulfs whatever it encounters.

fog — Fog covers the top of the Eiffel Tower as rainy weather continues in Paris, France on June 2, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen

The most mystical weather phenomenon.

fog — People walk near the Chain-bridge during a heavy fog in the center of Budapest, Hungary on January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh

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