Nature's own magic show has just graced the Superstition Mountains, as the rare 'cougar shadow' made its appearance this week during the spring equinox. This curious phenomenon, which resembles a lurking cougar, emerges just twice a year, both in spring and fall when the sun hits the mountains at the perfect angle. According to ABC15, the fleeting shadow is best witnessed around half an hour before sunset, offering locals and visitors alike a brief spectacle.
To catch the shadow at its most defined, Find your way over to the intersection of 13th Avenue and Goldfield Road in the Apache Junction area. If the timing was missed this equinox, the show is not over for the year – the shadow is set to sexually reappear on September 22, during the fall equinox. A viewer, Deborah Myers, shared her snapshot of the shadow, captured right on time from this specific vantage point.
The hunt for the 'cougar shadow' has become something of a local tradition, with people like Ralph Prosser traveling significant distances, from places as far as Washington, expressly for this purpose. "I'm hoping to see the elusive cat," Prosser told AZFamily. The eerie beauty of the shadow has also captured the dedication of photographer Jack Olson, who after seven years of documenting the event, admitted, "This is my seventh year going out there, my wife thinks I’m crazy."
Those interested in the phenomenon should mark their calendars; the cougar will stealthily emerge again at sunset as the equinox approaches in September. The locals suggest the intersection near Goldfield Road and Superstition Boulevard as a prime spot. Although the window to witness this natural occurrence is closing at the end of March, spectators will have another shot to see it later this year. The shadow quickly forms and just as quickly vanishes, adding a touch of urgency to this desert display.
