Winter in California’s Yosemite National Park offers a beauty that’s different from the other seasons and there’s one spectacular phenomenon that visitors can only see for a couple of weeks in February at Horsetail Falls.
The waterfall is set “ablaze” by the setting sun. You might think lava has somehow sprung from the mountain, but it’s actually a phenomenon called the “firefall”.
When the firefall has been unhindered by bad weather like it was in 2017 it appears larger than usual (often because of all the rain and snow the park receives, which means photographers have gotten some amazing photos of it).
The angle of the setting sun transforms the 2,130-foot Horsetail waterfall into a red and yellow fiery glow.
It sure looks like lava is pouring out of the granite cliffside!
Many photographers get up as early as 5 a.m. to get the best spots to take a picture.
One visitor to the park, Blake Goldberg, spent days trying to get a view of the firefall and was fortunate enough to find an epic spot to view it. “Guaranteed, single greatest thing I’ve ever seen Mother Nature do.”
It’s certainly a phenomenon worth planning a trip around!
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