This time of year, Big Sur, California’s Keyhole Arch, attracts visitors from near and far. The visitors come to experience a natural light show as the Sun lines up perfectly in the middle of the arch at sunset. As the Sun sets and peaks through the arch, its rays shine through in a fiery orange light. For photographers, it is the shot of a lifetime.
Keyhole Arch can be seen from Pfieffer Beach, which is stunning even without the “light show.” Keyhole arch is a purple and orange rock formation known as a sea arch. Sea arches are formed from weathering [the process through which rock is broken down] caused by wave action. The sand on the beach near the arch is purple because it is made of the weathered rock from the surrounding cliffs. The cliffs contain manganese garnet deposits, which give the rock its purple color.
The “light show” at Keyhole Arch is best seen in the weeks leading up to and following the winter solstice. In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice is in December. During the winter solstice, the north pole is tilted furthest away from the Sun, resulting in the least sunlight. It is the shortest day of the year and the first day of winter.
To view the “light show,” the conditions must be just right. It can’t be too cloudy, and it must be a low-tide evening for the perfect reflection. The Sun lines up so that it projects through the hole only for those few weeks each winter. If you come too early or too late in the season, the Sun sets behind the arch. And the “show” lasts only a few minutes before the Sun sinks below the horizon.
What Do You Think? What makes a winter Keyhole Arch sunset so special?
Photo Credit: Eric Lowenbach/Getty Images
