Yosemite
Yosemite National Park is considered one of the most beautiful locations in the world. Indeed, naturalist John Muir called it one of nature’s most majestic cathedrals, and devoted his life protecting it.
The park, created over thousands of years ago by glaciations and many geologic forces, contains large granite stone formations, meadows, valleys and an abundance of waterfalls.
The human history of Yosemite is no less fascinating: from American Indians to European-American explorers and entrepreneurs to the Buffalo Soldiers of the U. S. Cavalry. There is a story in every area of the park.
Yosemite National Park spans 761,266 acres and is the destination famous among outdoor, back country sports enthusiasts, as well as casual sightseeing visitors.
The park was designated a World Heritage Site in 1984.
It contains five major vegetation or climate zones: chaparral/oak woodland, lower montane forest, upper montane forest, subalpine zone and alpine zone. The park has an elevation range from 2,127 to 13,114 feet (648 to 3,997 m).
Of California's 7,000 plant species, about 50% occur in the Sierra Nevada and more than 20% within Yosemite. There is suitable habitat for more than 160 rare plants in the park, with rare local geologic formations and unique soils characterizing the restricted ranges many of these plants occupy.
Current Features
Yosemite Valley is about 8 miles (13 km) long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines. The valley is drained by the Merced River and a multitude of streams and waterfalls including Tenaya, Illilouette, Yosemite and Bridalveil Creeks. Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America, and is a big attraction especially in the spring when the water flow is at its peak. The valley is renowned for its natural beauty, and is widely regarded as the centerpiece of Yosemite National Park, attracting visitors from around the world.
The Tuolumne Grove contains about twenty-five large giant sequoia specimens, covering approximately twenty acres at elevation 5,730 feet. The one-tenth-mile trail includes the “Dead Giant,” the first tree to be tunneled in the park, which is approximately thirty feet in diameter at the base. In 1878, a tunnel was cut through the already dead sequoia tree stump so that wagons, then later automobiles, could pass through it. Many of the giant sequoias are 1,000-3,000 years old. In 1993, park officials closed off car traffic due to damage to the grove’s ecosystem.
Perhaps the park’s most impressive view is located over 3,200 feet above the valley floor at Glacier Point. From there you can view the back side of Half Dome and the far reaches of Tuolumne Meadows and Mount Conness, a 12,590-foot peak.
Yosemite Valley area contains a visitor center with an adjacent full-scale Indian village that tells the story of how the Central Sierra Miwok lived, gathered and hunted. The world famous Ahwahnee Hotel is located at the north valley wall. The 5-star hotel’s grand opening was July 16, 1927. It has a grand multi-story dining room with massive log beams accented with Native American decor and tall windows with views of the surrounding meadow and sheer granite cliffs. All materials for building the hotel came from outside the park since park resources are protected by law.
The view we see as we enter the Valley from the lower (western) end contains the great granite monolith El Capitan on the left, and Cathedral Rocks on the right with Bridalveil Fall. Just past this spot the Valley suddenly widens with the Cathedral Spires, then the pointed obelisk of Sentinel Rock to the south. Across the Valley on the northern side are the Three Brothers, rising one above the other like gables built on the same angle – the highest crest is Eagle Peak, with the two below known as the Middle and Lower Brothers. To this point, the Valley has been curving gently to the left, to the north. Now a grand curve back to the right begins, with Yosemite Falls on the north, followed by the Royal Arches, topped by North Dome. Opposite to the south is Glacier Point, 3,200 feet (975 m) above the Valley floor. At this point the Valley splits into two, one section slanting northeast, with the other curving from south to southeast. Between them both, at the eastern end of the valley, is Half Dome, the most famous and most recognizable natural feature in the Sierra Nevada. Above and to the northeast of Half Dome is Cloud's Rest; at 9926 feet (3025 m), the highest point around Yosemite Valley.
Yosemite National Park is located in the central Sierra Nevada of California. Three wilderness areas are adjacent to Yosemite: the Ansel Adams Wilderness to the southeast, the Hoover Wilderness to the northeast, and the Emigrant Wilderness to the north.
The park, created over thousands of years ago by glaciations and many geologic forces, contains large granite stone formations, meadows, valleys and an abundance of waterfalls.
The human history of Yosemite is no less fascinating: from American Indians to European-American explorers and entrepreneurs to the Buffalo Soldiers of the U. S. Cavalry. There is a story in every area of the park.
Yosemite National Park spans 761,266 acres and is the destination famous among outdoor, back country sports enthusiasts, as well as casual sightseeing visitors.
The park was designated a World Heritage Site in 1984.
It contains five major vegetation or climate zones: chaparral/oak woodland, lower montane forest, upper montane forest, subalpine zone and alpine zone. The park has an elevation range from 2,127 to 13,114 feet (648 to 3,997 m).
Of California's 7,000 plant species, about 50% occur in the Sierra Nevada and more than 20% within Yosemite. There is suitable habitat for more than 160 rare plants in the park, with rare local geologic formations and unique soils characterizing the restricted ranges many of these plants occupy.
Current Features
Yosemite Valley is about 8 miles (13 km) long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines. The valley is drained by the Merced River and a multitude of streams and waterfalls including Tenaya, Illilouette, Yosemite and Bridalveil Creeks. Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America, and is a big attraction especially in the spring when the water flow is at its peak. The valley is renowned for its natural beauty, and is widely regarded as the centerpiece of Yosemite National Park, attracting visitors from around the world.
The Tuolumne Grove contains about twenty-five large giant sequoia specimens, covering approximately twenty acres at elevation 5,730 feet. The one-tenth-mile trail includes the “Dead Giant,” the first tree to be tunneled in the park, which is approximately thirty feet in diameter at the base. In 1878, a tunnel was cut through the already dead sequoia tree stump so that wagons, then later automobiles, could pass through it. Many of the giant sequoias are 1,000-3,000 years old. In 1993, park officials closed off car traffic due to damage to the grove’s ecosystem.
Perhaps the park’s most impressive view is located over 3,200 feet above the valley floor at Glacier Point. From there you can view the back side of Half Dome and the far reaches of Tuolumne Meadows and Mount Conness, a 12,590-foot peak.
Yosemite Valley area contains a visitor center with an adjacent full-scale Indian village that tells the story of how the Central Sierra Miwok lived, gathered and hunted. The world famous Ahwahnee Hotel is located at the north valley wall. The 5-star hotel’s grand opening was July 16, 1927. It has a grand multi-story dining room with massive log beams accented with Native American decor and tall windows with views of the surrounding meadow and sheer granite cliffs. All materials for building the hotel came from outside the park since park resources are protected by law.
The view we see as we enter the Valley from the lower (western) end contains the great granite monolith El Capitan on the left, and Cathedral Rocks on the right with Bridalveil Fall. Just past this spot the Valley suddenly widens with the Cathedral Spires, then the pointed obelisk of Sentinel Rock to the south. Across the Valley on the northern side are the Three Brothers, rising one above the other like gables built on the same angle – the highest crest is Eagle Peak, with the two below known as the Middle and Lower Brothers. To this point, the Valley has been curving gently to the left, to the north. Now a grand curve back to the right begins, with Yosemite Falls on the north, followed by the Royal Arches, topped by North Dome. Opposite to the south is Glacier Point, 3,200 feet (975 m) above the Valley floor. At this point the Valley splits into two, one section slanting northeast, with the other curving from south to southeast. Between them both, at the eastern end of the valley, is Half Dome, the most famous and most recognizable natural feature in the Sierra Nevada. Above and to the northeast of Half Dome is Cloud's Rest; at 9926 feet (3025 m), the highest point around Yosemite Valley.
Yosemite National Park is located in the central Sierra Nevada of California. Three wilderness areas are adjacent to Yosemite: the Ansel Adams Wilderness to the southeast, the Hoover Wilderness to the northeast, and the Emigrant Wilderness to the north.
- 1,189 sq mi (3,080 km2) park is roughly the size of the U.S. state of Rhode Island
- Thousands of lakes and ponds
- 1,600 miles (2,600 km) of streams
- 800 miles (1,300 km) of hiking trails
- 350 miles (560 km) of roads.
- Annual park visitation exceeds 3.5 million, with most visitor use concentrated in the seven-square-mile (18 km2) area of Yosemite Valley