What looks like a staircase coming out of the wall is actually an optical illusion. I am almost directly below this formation shooting up. The part that looks like a staircase is actually perfectly horizontal when you walk up and stand next to it. The intense glow is caused by the direct sunlight which is reflecting off the floor of this area just out of the scene to the left. The is the same shot as image (C28) but a much wider angle lens was used.