For a few days in February, the setting sun lines up perfectly with Horsetail Falls in Yosemite, lighting it up spectacularly for a few minutes so that it looks like a river of fire tumbling down the mountain.

This firefall is a natural phenomena, but in the first half of last century, the Yosemite Firefall was a winter event where bundles of firewood were set on fire and pushed down the majestic cliffs of Yosemite, to the delight of tourists in the valley below. This tradition endured until the late 60's when a more conservation minded spirit took hold.

But this new, natural, firefall was not discovered until 1973, when famed landscape photographer Galen Rowell captured it. Aside from being at the right spot at the right time, this is actually a very easy picture to snap. There are several viewpoints from which it can be seen, mostly along the road in the valley and at the El Capitan picnic spot. The conditions have to be right, though, with enough water and clear skies in the west. Getting to the right spot involve hiking for a few kilometers, but mostly because the parking lots are filled early in the morning by the hundreds of photographers congregating and hoping they will make the shot.