92°F
weather icon Clear

‘Firefall’ phenomenon wows visitors to Yosemite’s El Capitan

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — Mother Nature is again putting on a show at California’s Yosemite National Park, where every February the setting sun draws a narrow sliver of light on a waterfall to make it glow like a cascade of molten lava.

The phenomenon known as “firefall” draws scores of photographers to a spot near Horsetail Fall, which flows down the granite face of the park’s famed rock formation, El Capitan.

Capturing the sight is a challenge. Horsetail Fall only flows in the winter or spring, when there is enough rain and snow. The sun lights up the fall for only about two minutes at dusk for a few days in February.

Some photographers have had success this year as pictures of the glowing falls are showing up on social media.

THE LATEST
Police arrest 80 at Israel-Hamas war protest at UC Santa Cruz

Police in riot gear surrounded protesters at the University of California, Santa Cruz, to remove an encampment where pro-Palestinian demonstrations have blocked the main entrance to the campus.

2023 set a record for heat deaths. 2024 could be even deadlier

The death certificates of more than 2,300 people who died in the US last summer mention the effects of excessive heat, the highest number in 45 years of records.

Can Donald Trump be elected president as a convicted felon?

Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes. Here’s a look at the unprecedented legal questions Trump’s situation presents.