Firefall at Horsetail Fall in Yosemite National Park

Firefall is an annual February event in Yosemite National Park. The setting sun lights up Horsetail Fall and turns the waterfall on the eastern edge of El Capitan into what appears to be glowing lava flowing over the cliff.

The spectacular event can occur in mid-February for an approximately two week period when the sunset shines just right on the cliff. It requires clear skies and sufficient melting snow to run over the falls, creating the dramatic effect.

The annual event is named after the Yosemite Firefall, a summer tradition in the park started in 1872 when burning embers were spilled off the top of Glacier Point, falling more than 3,000 feet. The tradition ran off and on for nearly 100 years, ending in January 1968 when the National Park Service finally put a permanent stop to it to minimize damage from foot traffic and end the humanmade spectacle in the park.

Horsetail Fall is only flowing in the winter and spring as the snow melt runs over El Capitan. It descends more than 1500 feet in two streams – an eastern one and a western one – before finishing the nearly 500 feet left to the valley floor.