Yosemite National Park, California, USA

Last light on Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California, USA

 

Yosemite National Park, California, USA

 

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park (/joʊˈsɛmɪti/ yoh-SEM-ih-tee[5]) is a national park of the United States in California. 

 

El Capitan, a granite monolith on Yosemite Valley's northern escarpment

 

Yosemite Valley map, 

 

Yosemite National Park lies in the Sierra Nevada Mountains east of San Francisco in the US State of California. It is an area of unique natural beauty with spectacular scenery derived from repeated glaciations in an area of granite bedrock over millions of years. This has resulted in a concentration of distinctive landscape features, including soaring cliffs, deeply-cut U-shaped valleys, domes, tarns, moraines and free-falling waterfalls. The park covers a range of altitude from 600 to 4,000 metres, and its spectacular scenic attributes are complemented with a diversity of habitats

 

 Half-Dome

The 16-mile round-trip hike to the top of Yosemite’s Half Dome is a 10- to 12-hour undertaking. 

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

 

 

Yosemite National Park

It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers 759,620 acres (1,187 sq mi; 3,074 km2) in four counties – centered in Tuolumne and Mariposa, extending north and east to Mono and south to Madera. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, groves of giant sequoia, lakes, mountains, meadows, glaciers, and biological diversity.  Almost 95 percent of the park is designated wilderness. Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada.

 

Lower Yosemite Falls

 

Yosemite National Park

Its geology is characterized by granite and remnants of older rock. About 10 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada was uplifted and tilted to form its unique slopes, which increased the steepness of stream and river beds, forming deep, narrow canyons. About one million years ago glaciers formed at higher elevations. They moved downslope, cutting and sculpting the U-shaped Yosemite Valley.

 Vernal Falls via Mist Trail

 

A view of the park and Vernal Fall, photographed by photographer Eadweard Muybridge in 1872.

 

Yosemite National Park

European American settlers first entered the valley in 1851. Other travelers entered earlier, but James D. Savage is credited with discovering the area that became Yosemite National Park. Native Americans had inhabited the region for nearly 4,000 years, although humans may have first visited as long as 8,000 to 10,000 years ago.

 

Bridalveil Fall Trail

 

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite was critical to the development of the concept of national parks. Galen Clark and others lobbied to protect Yosemite Valley from development, ultimately leading to President Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Yosemite Grant of 1864 that declared Yosemite as federally preserved land. In 1890, John Muir led a successful movement to motivate Congress to establish Yosemite Valley and its surrounding areas as a National Park. This helped pave the way for the National Park System. Yosemite draws about four million visitors annually. Most visitors spend the majority of their time in the valley's seven square miles (18 km2). The park set a visitation record in 2016, surpassing five million visitors for the first time. In 2023, the park saw nearly four million visitors.

 

Grizzly Giant Loop Trai,  the 25th largest Sequoia tree in the world

 

Glacier Point Overlook. 

From here you can see views of the entire Yosemite Valley, including a great view of Half Dome.  You can also see the waterfalls flowing. 

 

Washburn Point. 

Located just south of Glacier Point, Washburn Points has views of Nevada Fall and Vernal Fall in the distance. 

 

 

Tioga Pass Road on the north side of Yosemite,

known as Tuolumne Meadows.

 

Cathedral Lakes Trail

The spiny crown of Cathedral Peak

Elevation : 10,916 ft (3,327 m)

 

 Mount Lyell is the highest point in the park, standing at 13,120 feet (4,000 m). The Lyell Glacier is the largest glacier in the park and one of the few remaining in the Sierra.

 

Mt_Lyell_from_Donahue_shoulder

Mount Lyell 

The highest point in the park 

Elevation :  13,114 feet (3,997 m)

Mt Lyell, viewed from the John Muir Trail / Pacific Crest Trail on the shoulder North of Donahue Pass. Ansel Adams Wilderness, Sierra Nevada mountains, California.

 

Elizabeth Lake Trail 

 

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir

 

 

In the 1920s, there were a few evenings when the Firefall was relocated to a different Yosemite landmark: Half Dome.

~ the Firefal , the edge of Glacier Point, creating a fiery spectacle.~

 

The granite landscape of Yosemite Valley

 

View of Half Dome and the granite landscape of Yosemite Valley from Cloud's Rest (9926ft).

Yosemite National Park, Yosemite National Park, USA, California District, California Region, United States of America,

 

 

 

Yosemite National Park, California, USA

 

Yosemite National Park (/joʊˈsɛmɪti/ yoh-SEM-ih-tee[5]) is a national park of the United States in California. 

 

It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers 759,620 acres (1,187 sq mi; 3,074 km2) in four counties – centered in Tuolumne and Mariposa, extending north and east to Mono and south to Madera. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, groves of giant sequoia, lakes, mountains, meadows, glaciers, and biological diversity.  Almost 95 percent of the park is designated wilderness. Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada.

 

Its geology is characterized by granite and remnants of older rock. About 10 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada was uplifted and tilted to form its unique slopes, which increased the steepness of stream and river beds, forming deep, narrow canyons. About one million years ago glaciers formed at higher elevations. They moved downslope, cutting and sculpting the U-shaped Yosemite Valley.

 

European American settlers first entered the valley in 1851. Other travelers entered earlier, but James D. Savage is credited with discovering the area that became Yosemite National Park. Native Americans had inhabited the region for nearly 4,000 years, although humans may have first visited as long as 8,000 to 10,000 years ago.

 

Yosemite was critical to the development of the concept of national parks. Galen Clark and others lobbied to protect Yosemite Valley from development, ultimately leading to President Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Yosemite Grant of 1864 that declared Yosemite as federally preserved land. In 1890, John Muir led a successful movement to motivate Congress to establish Yosemite Valley and its surrounding areas as a National Park. This helped pave the way for the National Park System. Yosemite draws about four million visitors annually. Most visitors spend the majority of their time in the valley's seven square miles (18 km2). The park set a visitation record in 2016, surpassing five million visitors for the first time. In 2023, the park saw nearly four million visitors.