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Camptune el capitan5/4/2023 He shared the moment via Instagram:Īward-winning reporter and editor Dave Adalian's love affair with the cosmos began during a long-ago summer school trip to the storied and venerable Lick Observatory atop California's Mount Hamilton, east of San Jose in the foggy Diablos Mountain Range and far above Monterey Bay at the edge of the endless blue Pacific Ocean. The scree dropped from Horsetail Fall, a feature on the east face of El Capitan about 1,000 feet (304 meters) above the valley floor.įollowing the excitement of the rockfall, Wood managed to capture the firefall phenomenon, as the setting sun illuminated Horsetail Fall on February 20, 2023. The rockfall took place near the site of firefall. In 2023, firefall happened between February 10 and February 27. Here’s the National Park Service’s description of firefall. See Mike Mezeul II’s 2019 image of firefall The waterfall glows so fiercely that it appears to be on fire. If Yosemite receives an ample amount of snowfall throughout the winter, and if the western horizon stays clear, the last few minutes of daylight fall perfectly upon Horsetail Falls and illuminate it in a vibrant orange and red. Hundreds if not thousands of photographers flock to the valley in hopes of capturing the elusive moment, that is, if the weather, snow and light cooperate. EarthSky community member Mike Mezeul II described firefall this way:įor two weeks out of the year, a spectacular event known as the firefall takes place within Yosemite National Park. The rockfall happened during ‘firefall’Įvery year in February, Yosemite National Park receives thousands of visitors due to the phenomenon of “firefall” at Horsetail Falls. Last chance to get a moon phase calendar! Only a few left. Its website says it’s closed through March 1, 2023. Eventually more rocks fell that night (the night of February 20, 2023), and officials temporarily closed the park’s main road as a precaution.Ĭurrently, however, the park service has closed all of Yosemite National Park due to severe weather conditions. It looked like a giant oversized grand piano falling in slow motion … It was mad.Ī spokesman for the park commented that the dislodged rock was between 1,000 and 2,000 cubic yards (764 and 1,528 cubic meters) in size.Īlso, the Times reported no one was injured by the initial cascade of stone and debris. Wood, who happened to be taking photos at the time and captured the final portion of the rock’s fall on video, described the experience for the Los Angeles Times: It happened on February 20, 2023.Īlex J Wood, a British tourist, was in Yosemite Valley at the base of El Capitan – an iconic 3,000-foot (914-meter) granite monolith – when the rockfall started. Avalanche! Crazy seeing giant piece of El Capitan fall at #yosemite #yosemitenationalpark #rock #Avalanche #elcapitan /9fVgQmDXvSīritish artist, painter and sculpter Alex J Wood ( Twitter) happened to have his camera in hand as an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 cubic yards (764 to 1,528 cubic meters) of rock came crashing down from iconic El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in California.
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