The Horsetail Firefall in Yosemite National Park in California is an amazing spectacle.
If temperatures are too cold, the snow will stay frozen and Horsetail Fall wont flow.
The Horsetail Fall is fed entirely by snowmelt.
Since there are no runoffs feeding the falls, it stays dry the rest of the year.
Second, the western sky must be clear at sunset.
There must be no obstructing clouds or rain or snowfall, otherwise the suns rays will be blocked.
Thankfully, winter weather in Yosemite can be highly variable.
Even though a day may start off cloudy, it can clear up by sunset.
The Yosemite Valley was discovered by Europeans in 1851, but the natural Firefall was never mentioned.
Probably no one was looking at the falls at the right time at the right weather condition.
It was only in 1973, the phenomenon was first captured on photograph by Galen Rowell.
But it wasnt until the age of internet that the Firefall achieved global fame.
