The first rays of light from the sun bounced off the spray in California’s Yosemite Falls, turning the entire waterfall into a cascading rainbow.

Amazing footage shows rare high winds whipping up the spray as the full spectrum of colours is spread down the rockface.

Photographer Greg Harlow was waiting at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park for the famous sunrise over the Sierra Nevada Mountains when he spotted the spray initially turning red, reports the Story Trender.

He had just enough time to pull his camera equipment from his bag and was one of only 10 people to witness the beautiful sight.

Greg, 30, said: ‘I was at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park, which is a famous spot to view the sunrise over the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California.

‘I was there with my buddy Julian. We brought our coffee maker to the location, and hung out for an hour or so when completely unexpected, we saw colours start to appear on Yosemite Falls.

‘First it was red, then it worked its way across the spectrum to a full rainbow. We were two of only about ten people to witness this. The spot was empty because it was so windy that morning.

‘We lost it when we saw what was happening. It was beautiful.

‘It was truly a rare occurrence thanks to a special set of circumstances, but the main factor at play here was the extremely high winds, which are uncommon in the Yosemite Valley. This allowed the full spectrum to span the entire 1,450 foot waterfall.

‘Magical certainly is the right word. You can see the waterfall off the cliff and get immediately sprayed into mist by the high winds.

‘I travel and take images of natural beauty year round and this goes down as the most jaw dropping moment of my career so far.’