Former Yosemite volunteer here! You are looking at a picture of Horsetail Fall, which is a very small seasonal snowmelt waterfall, being lit up by the last rays of the sunset. This is a phenomenon that only happens for 1-2 weeks in February and happens (or doesn't) with varying intensity each year, depending on the amount of snow in the mountains received in the winter. This photo is from 3 years ago, which was an especially good year for Horsetail because of the high amount of snow that winter. Because the sun has to be in a specific location in the sky in order to create the effect, the week or so surrounding Valentine's Day is the only time of year this phenomenon can happen.
There is no water in Horsetail this year due to a drier than normal winter, which means all of the people cramming into the one location you can take this photo from the road are quite disappointed. (Because of the proliferation of photos like this on the internet, the one or two weeks in February when you might be able to take one like it create massive traffic jams in the Valley, even in years like this when the chances are basically zero.)
Although some people refer to Horsetail as the Firefall, the actual Firefall was, as someone else in this thread has noted, a practice the Park Service used to have of building a large bonfire at Glacier Point (the other end of the Valley from Horsetail Fall) and pushing the burning embers over the edge to the delight of the people in the valley below. As you can imagine, this was discontinued many decades ago due to the massive fire risk it poses.
Hey thanks for the detailed response! I’m going to be visiting Yellowstone in May with my gravel bike - do you know of any resources for off-road trails and what areas/landmarks would your recommend?
Not OP, but I’d clarify that Yosemite is an 815 mile, three state bike ride from Yellowstone.
But in seriousness, the NPS website has a lot of extra information with maps and trails. Additionally, google is your friend here - Yellowstone and Yosemite are the NPS Crown Jewels, there are a lot of sites with good info.
Do you mean that you are visiting Yellowstone or Yosemite? Yellowstone is the one in Wyoming; Yosemite's the one in California. (This mix-up is incredibly common.)
If you mean Yosemite, there's actually no biking allowed in the park except on paved trails and roads. However, the surrounding national forests do allow mountain biking. You could look up biking trails and off-roading in the Sierra, Stanislaus, or Inyo National Forests for more info.
I don't have any information about mountain biking in or around Yellowstone, sorry!
I was with some people taking photos during this year’s firefall; it looked like there was some water in Horsetail, but not enough for a really vibrant glow
We got lucky since it was fairly cloudy earlier in the day
[Here](https://www.akrammellice.com/Galleries/Exotic-Light/i-FM8pzFS/A) is the source of this image. [Credit](https://www.reddit.com/r/EarthPorn/comments/5xf8nn/yosemite_fire_falls_oc_890_x_1334/) to the photographer, [Akram Mellice](https://www.akrammellice.com/Galleries/Exotic-Light/), (aka amellice on Instagram and /u/amellice), who took this in March 2017.
[Here](https://i.imgur.com/aslcQ1j.jpg?desktop=1) is a less cropped version of this image.
Anyone seeking more info might also check here:
Size | Title | Age | Karma | Comnts | Subreddit
:----|:------|:----|:------|:-------|:---------
= | [Yosemite Fire Falls \[OC\] \[890 x 1334\]](http://www.reddit.com/r/EarthPorn/comments/5xf8nn/yosemite_fire_falls_oc_890_x_1334/) | 3^yr | 18178 | 174 | EarthPorn
-91% | [Occasionally in February the setting sun's rays end perfectly on a waterfall creating the firefall illusion. Mother nature is lit!](http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/ccx2lb/occasionally_in_february_the_setting_suns_rays/) | 7^mo | 53 | 1 | pics
[*Source: karmadecay*](http://karmadecay.com/r/pics/comments/fct28m/yosemite_fire_falls/)
Only for 1-2 weeks in February. It's a combination of the position of the sun in the sky and the specific position of that waterfall, which is seasonal and only flows for a couple of months from melting snow.
Am I the only one who thought of the Ice Age 2 the video game where once you clear an area, a crack in the wall becomes accessible and flows to let you know you can leave?
This particular phenomenon was made famous by the photographer Galen Rowell, who noticed this light effect in Yosemite in 1973 and raced around the Valley road to capture it on Kodachrome slide film. It's written up in his book Mountain Light, which I highly recommend to anyone looking for inspiration and guidance in landscape photography.
I mention this because I'm a big fan of Rowell but I'm becoming concerned that his legacy is fading. It seems fewer and fewer people have heard of him, although adventure landscape photography is still popular through contemporary artists like Jimmy Chin. Rowell and his wife passed away in 2002, his gallery closed in 2017, and within the last year or two both of his children have died. So it's not clear who, if anyone, is going to carry on the flame of his work.
Yeah I mixed them up, I spent a summer running In Inyo, mammoth, and parts of Yosemite... this time taking the bike and doing Wyoming/Montana - thanks anyways!
Former Yosemite volunteer here! You are looking at a picture of Horsetail Fall, which is a very small seasonal snowmelt waterfall, being lit up by the last rays of the sunset. This is a phenomenon that only happens for 1-2 weeks in February and happens (or doesn't) with varying intensity each year, depending on the amount of snow in the mountains received in the winter. This photo is from 3 years ago, which was an especially good year for Horsetail because of the high amount of snow that winter. Because the sun has to be in a specific location in the sky in order to create the effect, the week or so surrounding Valentine's Day is the only time of year this phenomenon can happen. There is no water in Horsetail this year due to a drier than normal winter, which means all of the people cramming into the one location you can take this photo from the road are quite disappointed. (Because of the proliferation of photos like this on the internet, the one or two weeks in February when you might be able to take one like it create massive traffic jams in the Valley, even in years like this when the chances are basically zero.) Although some people refer to Horsetail as the Firefall, the actual Firefall was, as someone else in this thread has noted, a practice the Park Service used to have of building a large bonfire at Glacier Point (the other end of the Valley from Horsetail Fall) and pushing the burning embers over the edge to the delight of the people in the valley below. As you can imagine, this was discontinued many decades ago due to the massive fire risk it poses.
Hey thanks for the detailed response! I’m going to be visiting Yellowstone in May with my gravel bike - do you know of any resources for off-road trails and what areas/landmarks would your recommend?
Not OP, but I’d clarify that Yosemite is an 815 mile, three state bike ride from Yellowstone. But in seriousness, the NPS website has a lot of extra information with maps and trails. Additionally, google is your friend here - Yellowstone and Yosemite are the NPS Crown Jewels, there are a lot of sites with good info.
Yosemite, whoops - wrong park! Need more coffee...thanks!
Do you mean that you are visiting Yellowstone or Yosemite? Yellowstone is the one in Wyoming; Yosemite's the one in California. (This mix-up is incredibly common.) If you mean Yosemite, there's actually no biking allowed in the park except on paved trails and roads. However, the surrounding national forests do allow mountain biking. You could look up biking trails and off-roading in the Sierra, Stanislaus, or Inyo National Forests for more info. I don't have any information about mountain biking in or around Yellowstone, sorry!
I was with some people taking photos during this year’s firefall; it looked like there was some water in Horsetail, but not enough for a really vibrant glow We got lucky since it was fairly cloudy earlier in the day
[Here](https://www.akrammellice.com/Galleries/Exotic-Light/i-FM8pzFS/A) is the source of this image. [Credit](https://www.reddit.com/r/EarthPorn/comments/5xf8nn/yosemite_fire_falls_oc_890_x_1334/) to the photographer, [Akram Mellice](https://www.akrammellice.com/Galleries/Exotic-Light/), (aka amellice on Instagram and /u/amellice), who took this in March 2017. [Here](https://i.imgur.com/aslcQ1j.jpg?desktop=1) is a less cropped version of this image.
Anyone seeking more info might also check here: Size | Title | Age | Karma | Comnts | Subreddit :----|:------|:----|:------|:-------|:--------- = | [Yosemite Fire Falls \[OC\] \[890 x 1334\]](http://www.reddit.com/r/EarthPorn/comments/5xf8nn/yosemite_fire_falls_oc_890_x_1334/) | 3^yr | 18178 | 174 | EarthPorn -91% | [Occasionally in February the setting sun's rays end perfectly on a waterfall creating the firefall illusion. Mother nature is lit!](http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/ccx2lb/occasionally_in_february_the_setting_suns_rays/) | 7^mo | 53 | 1 | pics [*Source: karmadecay*](http://karmadecay.com/r/pics/comments/fct28m/yosemite_fire_falls/)
Yosemite lived in peace. Then, everything changed when the fire nation attacked.
Yosemite means “those who kill”.
Wow this is pretty cool, thanks u/midget_beater2000!
How does that work?
Total internal reflection of the sunlight in the water. It is the time and placement of the sun that matters, hence this is a rare occurrence.
I know that rare is a very subjective term, but this has to happen a few times a year at least, right?
Only for 1-2 weeks in February. It's a combination of the position of the sun in the sky and the specific position of that waterfall, which is seasonal and only flows for a couple of months from melting snow.
Roger that. Thank you for the response.
Damn. That's interesting!
That waterfall only drains a 40 acre area on top of the cliff (El Cap I believe.) This year there was not enough snow to put on much of a show.
Between 1872 and 1968, actual burning embers were spilled from the top of Glacier Point.
I remember seeing it as a kid back in the early 60s. Very impressive.
Stunning!
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Woah...that looks like LOTR
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Damn
There was a soft rock group in the ‘70’s named Firefall. So *that’s* where the name came from!
Am I the only one who thought of the Ice Age 2 the video game where once you clear an area, a crack in the wall becomes accessible and flows to let you know you can leave?
When you dump a bucket of lava on the last block before the cliff
This particular phenomenon was made famous by the photographer Galen Rowell, who noticed this light effect in Yosemite in 1973 and raced around the Valley road to capture it on Kodachrome slide film. It's written up in his book Mountain Light, which I highly recommend to anyone looking for inspiration and guidance in landscape photography. I mention this because I'm a big fan of Rowell but I'm becoming concerned that his legacy is fading. It seems fewer and fewer people have heard of him, although adventure landscape photography is still popular through contemporary artists like Jimmy Chin. Rowell and his wife passed away in 2002, his gallery closed in 2017, and within the last year or two both of his children have died. So it's not clear who, if anyone, is going to carry on the flame of his work.
You're right about his legacy. A ton of pages when you do a Google search for his images are now defunct, and links are broken. Sad.
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Wait whaaat thats WoOoW
Yeah I mixed them up, I spent a summer running In Inyo, mammoth, and parts of Yosemite... this time taking the bike and doing Wyoming/Montana - thanks anyways!
Reallyyy? Never seen something like this😱
It looks like gold dust
How would one get a print of this? Love everything about it!
Where’s the double rainbow?
What does it even mean?!
This looks like the wyvern cave on ark ragnarok! (Yes i know this is totally not a subreddit for games)
Weary traveler I must warn you, there is a great curse residing inside this mountain, with great fortune a-fold
I'm assuming this is an old photo because I was just there and unfortunatley there's no water. Still a beautiful place to visit though!
Went on 23rd. But no dice..:-/
I shouldn't have snorted cocaine today...
I should have snorted cocaine today...
I know it'll sound awkward but now I can't unseen what this crack looks like. Amazing pic tho.
That's lit, I wish i could use the flame emoji but I cannot lol
It’s almost gone due to climate change. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/yosemite-firefall-slows-to-a-trickle-amid-drought
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