Photos: Autumn in Interior Alaska

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Fall colors along the Elliott Highway north of Fairbanks on September 8, 2015.

Autumn arrives quickly in Interior Alaska. The boreal forest -- with its black and white spruce, willow, birch and aspen -- transforms from shades of green to striking yellows back-dropped by the deep green of spruce trees.

As the fall equinox approaches, Fairbanks loses nearly seven minutes of sunlight every day. The equinox marks the mid-point of Fairbanks' drastic shifts in sunlight -- from a summer solstice that boasts nearly 22 hours of daylight to a winter solstice that offers the Interior community less than four hours of sun.

In Alaska's golden heart Interior, the boreal forest makes for a brief but striking autumn. Then, the golden leaves fall nearly as quickly as they turn, leaving deciduous trees bare and awaiting winter's snowfall.

The boreal forest is Earth's largest terrestrial ecosystem, covering 11 percent of the planet's land area. The Interiors of Siberia, northern Asia, Europe and North America, are all comprised of boreal forest.