Current:Home > MarketsThe elusive "Cougar's Shadow" only emerges twice a year – and now is your last chance to see it until fall -BrightFutureFinance
The elusive "Cougar's Shadow" only emerges twice a year – and now is your last chance to see it until fall
View
Date:2025-04-12 10:06:09
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! (11889)
Related
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Target says it's closing 9 stores because of surging retail thefts
- Bulgarian parliament approves additional weapons to Ukraine to aid in its war with Russia
- Is Ringling Bros. still the 'Greatest Show on Earth' without lions, tigers or clowns?
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Prosecutors say cheek swab from Gilgo Beach murder suspect adds to evidence of guilt
- DEA has seized over 55 million fentanyl pills in 2023 so far, Garland says
- Police charge man in deadly Georgia wreck, saying drivers were racing at more than 100 mph
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Kyle Richards Supports Mauricio Umansky at Dancing with the Stars Amid Relationship Speculation
Ranking
- Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
- Donald Trump and his company repeatedly violated fraud law, New York judge rules
- Remember When George and Amal Clooney's Star-Studded, $4.6 Million Wedding Took Over Venice?
- Texas family sues mortuary for allegedly dropping body down flight of stairs
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Damian Lillard is being traded from the Trail Blazers to the Bucks, AP source says, ending long saga
- Mark Consuelos Makes Cheeky Confession About Kelly Ripa's Naked Body
- Hollywood writers' strike to officially end Wednesday as union leadership OKs deal
Recommendation
Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
This year's COVID vaccine rollout is off to a bumpy start, despite high demand
Liberty's Breanna Stewart edges Sun's Alyssa Thomas to win 2nd WNBA MVP award
Azerbaijan says 192 of its troops were killed in last week’s offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh
Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
More than half of Americans say they don't have enough for retirement, poll shows
DWTS’ Sharna Burgess Reflects on “Slippery Slope” of Smoking Meth as a Teen
'We are just ecstatic': Man credits granddaughter for helping him win $2 million from scratch off game