Vernal Fall in Yosemite National Park, California

Yosemite in full flow

This spectacular scene is of Vernal Fall in Yosemite National Park, in the US state of California. At this time of year, the waterfall flows in a torrent over the edge of this cliff, but by late summer it can be reduced to a trickle of small streams slipping over the edge. Most years, Vernal Fall is at full power by May, as the spring thaw in the mountains melts the snowpack, turning it into a raging tumble of water making its way to the valley floor where the Merced River flows.