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Capturing Moonbows In the Waterfalls of Yosemite National Park, the Video

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on July 8, 2011 - 1:20am

"Moonbows," those colorful ribbons of light caught in waterfalls, show up in Yosemite National Park during the spring and early summer months when the full moon arrives.

Those nights that coincide with the full moon over Yosemite National Park bring out an unusual park visitor, one who goes in search of "moonbows" that rise above the park's waterfalls.

Park videographer Steven Bumgardner, who has compiled an amazing library of videos examining everything from Yosemite's glaciers to frazil ice, now focuses on these colorful ribbons that appear under the full moons of spring and early summer.

This 7-minute video will help you gain an appreciation for the phenomenon, and perhaps prompt you to reschedule future trips to Yosemite to coincide with the full moon.

Comments

Submitted by Lee Dalton on July 8, 2011 - 7:06am.

WOW!

Thank you, Steven Bumgardner.

Submitted by Owen Hoffman on July 8, 2011 - 12:51pm.

Steve Bumgardner should receive a special award for his "Nature Note" videos. Each of them exhibit the highest professional standards in educational and artistic videography. In fact, Steve's Nature Note videos are an excellent example for other parks to follow. They effectively use the internet as a means to reach out beyond park boundaries to a much larger public. In so doing, they help to build a greater public constituency for the outstanding natural and cultural resources protected within our national parks.

The last time I was at the base of Yosemite Falls to observe moonbows, was in the Spring of 1971. In stark contrast to Steve's Yosemite Nature Note #15, there were no photographers in sight. Only one other person was standing with me in the spray and mist that evening, Edward Abbey. He later wrote about this experience in a chapter of "Journey Home."