Hundreds of people gathered around Horsetail Fall in Yosemite National Park to see the spectacular and breath-taking phenomenon known as firefall. The waterfall, which appears like golden lava at the California park, lasts for about 10 days each year mid-February.
During the night, the firefall hits the 1,000-foot tall Horsetail Fall and creates the illusion of lava flowing off the side of the cliff instead of water. The firefall typically lasts for a few minutes at sunset.
Sangeeta Dey, a pediatric neuropsychologist and National Geographic Your Shot member who hiked to Yosemite for the annual firefall, said he was the first to see the phenomenon Sunday.
“This year, I feel fortunate to have been one of the firsts to witness it.” “Very surreal!” he said in an Instagram post. “In fact, I just drove back home after seeing this unforgettable moment.”
Dey arrived to the park at 11:30 a.m. local time expecting “to see a crowd of other photographers. However, imagine my surprise, when I saw nobody there,” he told the International Business Times.
This year was his second time seeing it but the crowd was much smaller than before because he was there days before the predicated peak dates of Thursday through Feb. 23. Dey went earlier because “storms were moving in making it impossible to see the firefall” later on the week, he said.
“I took a chance by coming in on 12th, which is four days earlier than the anticipated date of firefall. Thankfully, mother nature does not follow the calendar,” he said.
The firefall only occurs mid-February because it was the only time the sun aligns with the waterfall. “There has to be enough snow and enough warm sun to melt it to form a steady flow of water,” Dey said.
Weather conditions in California have made it so there won’t be much to see because a “storm is moving in, and it will stay that way until Sunday,” Dey said.
In the meantime, you can check out Dey’s picture of the firefall below.
Just like Dey, other people captured their own images of the firefall.
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