It is one of the scenic wonders of the world. Within it are many attractions, each great by itself, and all more impressive in their splendid grouping.
By permission of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior
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1. Clouds' Rest. 2. Half Dome. 3. Mount Watkins. 4. Basket Dome. 5. North Dome. 6. Washington Column. 7. Royal Arches. 8. Mirror Lake and mouth of Tenaya Cañon. 9. Yosemite Village. 10. Head of Yosemite Falls. 11. Eagle Peak (the Three Brothers). 12. El Capitan. 13. Ribbon Falls. |
14. Merced River. 15. El Capitan Bridge and Moraine. 16. Big Oak Flat Road. 17. Wawona Road. 18. Bridal Veil Falls. 19. Cathedral Rocks. 20. Cathedral Spires. 21. Sentinel Rock. 22. Glacier Point. 23. Sentinel Dome. 24. Liberty Cap. 25. Mount Broderick. 26. Little Yosemite Valley. |
Its glacial landscapes are magnificent and startling. Here the Ice King, the great landscape engineer, did work immensely bold and enchanting. An array of stupendous rock sculpture remains almost untarnished. Scores of lovely alpine lakes in solid rock lie open to the sun. The wild-flower population numbers more than a thousand varieties. It has scores of varieties of wild birds and many kinds of wild life. World-famous are its waterfalls.
Two of the greatest of mountain rivers rise in the Park and cross it from east to west. Each of them falls several thousand feet within the Park. Crossing centrally through the northern section is the Tuolumne. Passing miles of alpine rock and meadow, it roars through the rugged Tuolumne Cañon, and when well across the Park it sweeps through the majestic gorge known as the Hetch-Hetchy Valley.
Paralleling this stream at the distance of about ten miles is the intense Merced. This and its tributaries are signally rich in lakes and waterfalls, and they flow among stupendous and astounding glacial landscapes. At last the Merced flows serenely through the world-famous valley, the matchless Yosemite Gorge.
No name can suggest the amazing combinations of vastness and beauty seen in this rocky passage; the name "valley" is altogether lacking in significance. It may be described as having gorge walls with a valley floor. The walls have unshattered solidity, great height, and almost true verticalness. They bear the marks of individuality, and the valley-like floor shows original character.
The Yosemite Valley is obviously the greatest, as it is the most celebrated, scene in the Park. It is about seven miles long, approximately one mile wide, and about three fourths of a mile deep. The floor is nearly level and lies at an altitude of four thousand feet. It is well grassed, adorned with trees and groves, and glorified from end to end by the Merced River. The nearly vertical walls rise mainly in smooth, substantial masses from twenty-five hundred to nearly five thousand feet. Waterfalls from the heights above make the wild plunge over the rim down to the floor of the valley.
This gorge is countersunk into a plateau. It extends from east to west. The western and open end has an impressive entrance. On the left, El Capitan raises his colossal figure thirty-three hundred feet in smooth and simple massiveness. On the right, over the front face of the mountain wall opposite, flutter several hundred feet of Bridal Veil Falls. Then in order, on the right south wall, Cathedral Spires rise high above the valley; then Sentinel Rock; then stupendous Glacier Point. Farther east on the south wall, Half Dome stands up forty-five hundred feet, the most impressive figure on the valley rim. Farther along, on the right or south side of the valley, is the celebrated Clouds' Rest. On the left or north wall stand the Three Brothers. By these the snowy stream of the Yosemite Waterfall comes down. About halfway up the valley on the left are the Washington Column and the Royal Arches. Then, along the left or north wall in succession, rise North Dome, Basket Dome, and Mount Watkins. The upper part of the valley divides into three depressions or gorges. The north one is Tenaya Cañon, the central one is Little Yosemite Valley, and from this branches the southerly one, Illilouette Cañon. Each of these cañons is a wonder by itself.