Keyhole Arch Solstice Sunbeams, Pfeiffer Beach, Big Sur, California, USA
© Betty Sederquist/SuperStock
Solstice sunbeams
While West Coast Christmases are seldom white with snow, nature finds other ways to get in the holiday spirit here in the Golden State. A landmark of the Big Sur region south of Monterey, California, Keystone Arch puts on a seasonal light show each year. Peaking in late December near the winter solstice, the effect occurs when the setting sun lines up just right with Keystone's through-cut sea cave—as permitted by the persistent NorCal winter fog.
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