Fact Check

Are These Rainbow Mountains Real?

An image purportedly showing a rainbow-colored mountain range in California was digitally manipulated.

Published Aug. 18, 2017

Claim:
A photograph shows a rainbow-colored mountain range in California.

On 15 August 2017, the Amazing Photos in the World Facebook page posted a photograph purportedly showing a rainbow-colored mountain range in "Dead Valley National Park" in California. The digitally-altered photograph, of California's Death Valley National Park, was actually the work of an artist.

Digital artist Ramzy Masri created the image, which he originally posted to his Instagram account on 7 February 2017 as part of his #SpectrumEdit series:



In this case, Masri digitally rainbow colors to a photograph taken by Christopher Hainey:



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A post shared by christopher hainey (@chriscreature) on

Although this image of a rainbow-colored mountain is fake, the world does have some colorful mountain ranges. Part of Ausangate, a mountain in the Peruvian Andes, is often referred to as the "Rainbow Mountains" due to its colorful appearance. Some were apparently unimpressed by nature's beauty, however, as a digitally enhanced version of these mountains was also circulated on social media.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.

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