Photo by Craig Johnson - August 2019

This is a view of a cumulus from the bottom. Cumulus usually have flat, or nearly flat, bases. That’s because as air rises it reaches the condensation level. That level is often very consistent so the condensation occurs at the same height. It is also possible for condensation to occur at different levels in the same cloud. In that case the clouds have a ragged bottom. This cumulus did not have a distinctly flat bottom. In general, it was flat but there were variations in the level of condensation. From this angle it is possible to see the ragged cloud edge and the varying thickness of the cloud caused parts of the base to be brighter or darker than other parts.