A massive chunk of rocks slid down the face of El Capitan, one of the landmark granite peaks of California’s Yosemite National Park, in a scene caught on video by visitors earlier this week.
El Capitan’s 3,000-foot stone face is a popular destination for rock climbers looking to test their skills, but park officials said no one was injured.
They said via Twitter that it was five to ten times smaller than the tragic 2017 rockfalls that left one climber dead and another injured, along with another injury on the ground, and displaced about 1,300 tons of rock.
The rockfall happened west of Yosemite Valley’s Camp 4 and led to the temporary closure of the nearby road as rangers assessed the situation.
The park’s official Twitter feed said the rockslide started at the top of Horsetail Fall, the waterfall that transforms into the “firefall” in mid-to-late February each year when backlighted by the setting sun and if conditions are just right.