This Natural Phenomenon Is Wild and Only Happens Twice a Year

Twice a year, the Superstition Mountains in Arizona are home to a natural phenomenon that many travel to see. The spectacle occurs when the sun sets at just the right angle to cast a rather unique-looking shadow on the mountainside. The famous “cougar shadow” uncannily resembles a cougar chasing prey down the mountain. It only appears during the third week of March and the third week of September.

Unfortunately, this year, a wildfire in the Superstitions will likely erase any opportunity for photographers to glimpse the elusive cougar shadow in September. However, one photog took to Instagram to share a time-lapse video of the shadow materializing in a previous year.

Adrian M. Flores is a photographer from Tucson, Arizona who enjoys traveling up to the foot of the Superstitions for a chance at viewing the shadow. Flores laments that wildfires are thwarting this year’s September trip. Thankfully, Flores’s 2022 footage is great and will have to hold us all over until next March.

See time-lapse footage of the cougar shadow here:

Twice a year, the Superstition Mountains in Arizona are home to a natural phenomenon that many travel to see. The spectacle occurs when the sun sets at just the right angle to cast a rather unique-looking shadow on the mountainside. The famous “cougar shadow” uncannily resembles a cougar chasing prey down the mountain. It only appears during the third week of March and the third week of September.

Unfortunately, this year, a wildfire in the Superstitions will likely erase any opportunity for photographers to glimpse the elusive cougar shadow in September. However, one photog took to Instagram to share a time-lapse video of the shadow materializing in a previous year.

Adrian M. Flores is a photographer from Tucson, Arizona who enjoys traveling up to the foot of the Superstitions for a chance at viewing the shadow. Flores laments that wildfires are thwarting this year’s September trip. Thankfully, Flores’s 2022 footage is great and will have to hold us all over until next March.

See time-lapse footage of the cougar shadow here: