Every February, something magical happens deep in Yosemite National Park. A waterfall called Horsetail Falls begins to glow and looks like flames or lava falling from the cliff. This phenomenon is called a “firefall” and lasts only a few minutes. Every year in mid-to-late February, if conditions are right, the setting sun hits the falls, illuminating them in fiery orange and red hues.This attracts crowds, photographers, nature lovers and people who have been waiting for this opportunity for years. Firefall is all about that little window into natural beauty.
What makes a ponytail glow like a fire?
Horsetail Falls is a slender ribbon of water that flows along the east side of El Capitan, and most of the year it’s very plain, quiet, and secluded.In mid-February, the angle of the setting sun changed, Yosemite Mariposa County reported. Light catches the falling water, and flame-like colors spill from the rocks in intense orange and crimson hues. Sometimes it even looks like smoke.But it’s not popular at all. It’s pure and simple, the way light hits the water only happens for a few minutes each year. Photographers from all over the world gathered at the valley floor.
What conditions cause firefalls to glow?
Firefalls don’t happen all the time, or even every year. Specific weather conditions are required.
- rain or clear sky
- There should be enough water in autumn
- suitable sunlight
- If the sky is cloudy, this effect will not appear
It looks like a regular waterfall. It’s a fragile balance, experts say. A combination of weather, timing and luck. Some years, people watch and nothing happens. They returned home disappointed. Others saw its splendor.
The science behind glowing
Firefalls work by bending light (called refraction). The sun hung low in the sky. In mid-February, it hits the water at a rare angle, the light scatters, the color changes, and what you see looks like fire.
