[Levin]

UPDATED FEB 16, 2023, 5:21 PM SGT


YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, California – A spectacular “firefall” wowed visitors in California’s Yosemite National Park on Wednesday, with the setting sun lighting up a waterfall like a ribbon of fire.

For just a couple of weeks every year, the last rays of daylight hit Horsetail Fall, appearing to set the water alight like a river of lava gushing down a mountainside.

The phenomenon, which lasts just a few minutes at sundown and which draws tourists from across the United States, relies on a rare combination of perfect conditions.

“When the sun drops at the exact right angle, it reflects upon El Capitan,” Yosemite National Park public affairs officer Scott Gediman said.

“It’s a combination of the sun reflecting on the water, clear skies, water flowing. If all of that comes together, it’s magical,” he said.

California, along with much of the western United States, is in the grip of a years-long drought that has badly depleted its rivers.

But heavy downpours that started in 2023 – causing deadly flooding in some places – have left the state in much better shape, and watercourses are flowing.


https://www.straitstimes.com/world/unite...e-firefall

[Levin]

[Levin]