Current:Home > ScamsThe elusive "Cougar's Shadow" only emerges twice a year – and now is your last chance to see it until fall-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
The elusive "Cougar's Shadow" only emerges twice a year – and now is your last chance to see it until fall
View Date:2024-12-23 21:49:08
An "elusive" beast is emerging for a limited time, offering viewers a rare glimpse of a spectacle in Arizona's mountains. It's not dangerous, but finding the legendary mountain entity can be difficult.
It's known as "The Cougar's Shadow" – a natural phenomenon in the state's Superstition Mountains that only appears twice a year, during the equinoxes. The spring equinox occurred late Tuesday night – a rare event itself as it's earlier than usual – offering a small window of opportunity to see the cougar-shaped shadow that cascades over Apache Junction.
The spectacle draws in people from across the country, including Ralph Prosser.
"I'm hoping to see the elusive cat," Posser told CBS affiliate KPHO.
Longtime "Cougar's Shadow" photographer Jack Olson told the station that the shadow looks like "a cougar chasing its prey down into the bottom on the canyon."
"This is my seventh year going out there," he said. "My wife thinks I'm crazy."
Olson has been posting updates about this year's big cat emergence on Facebook, saying on March 18 that while the shadow was already visible, it still "needs at least another week or more to become better defined."
According to Visit Mesa, the cougar appears the third week of March and the best viewing spot is in Apache Junction at 13th Avenue and Goldfield Road.
"Timing is critical," the group says, with the last 30 minutes before the official sunset being the "prime time for viewing."
Arizona's Superstition Mountains, the home of the rare shadow event, are the result of intense volcanic activity over a long period of time, according to Arizona State Parks. The state says that around 25 million years ago, volcanoes across the area emitted 2,500 cubic miles of ash and lava and that eventually, the volcanoes collapsed into their magma chambers.
"A subsequent up-thrust of thick lava within the largest of these calderas and the forces of erosion have created the Superstition formations that we see at the park today," the state parks website says. "...While hiking in the Superstitions, one can sometimes hear rumblings similar to rolling thunder. Geologists say this results from seismic activity resonated by the canyon walls. This could explain the origin of the Apache legend that these mountains are the home of the thunder gods."
- In:
- Equinox
- Arizona
Li Cohen is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.
veryGood! (825)
Related
- Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight odds will shift the longer the heavyweight bout goes
- Bears clinch No. 1 pick in 2024 NFL draft thanks to trade with Panthers
- Controversy again? NFL officials' latest penalty mess leaves Lions at a loss
- Most funding for endangered species only benefits a few creatures. Thousands of others are left in limbo
- Queen Elizabeth II's Final 5-Word Diary Entry Revealed
- How to watch or stream the 2024 Rose Bowl Parade on New Year's Day
- Jerry Jones, Jimmy Johnson finally get it right in setting beef aside for Cowboys' celebration
- When is the 2024 Super Bowl? What fans should know about date, time, halftime performer
- 'America's flagship' SS United States has departure from Philadelphia to Florida delayed
- More Rohingya refugees arrive in Indonesia despite rejection from locals
Ranking
- Louisiana mom arrested for making false kidnapping report after 'disagreement' with son
- Early morning shooting kills woman and wounds 4 others in Los Angeles County
- Three-time NASCAR champion Cale Yarborough dies at 84
- A man is arrested in Arkansas in connection with the death of a co-worker in Maine
- COINIXIAI Introduce
- Texas' Arch Manning is the Taylor Swift of backup quarterbacks
- Japan issues tsunami warnings after aseries of very strong earthquakes in the Sea of Japan
- Olympic host country France sees less New Year’s Eve disorder as it celebrates 2024’s arrival
Recommendation
-
Lions find way to win, Bears in tough spot: Best (and worst) from NFL Week 10
-
Beyond Times Square: A giant Peep, a wrench, a crab. A look at the weirdest NYE drops.
-
Gloria Trevi says she was a 'prisoner' of former manager Sergio Andrade in new lawsuit
-
Biden fast-tracks work authorization for migrants who cross legally
-
Mississippi governor intent on income tax cut even if states receive less federal money
-
China’s manufacturing activity slows in December in latest sign the economy is still struggling
-
How to watch Michigan vs. Alabama in Rose Bowl: Start time, channel, livestream
-
In Iowa, Nikki Haley flubs Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark's name