On the western slope of the Sierra, about one hundred and forty miles
east of San Francisco, lies the Yosemite National Park, with an area
of 1124 square miles. It is slightly larger than Rhode Island. Its
lower sections on the west have an altitude of about 3000 feet. From
this elevation it rises through bold terraces into the High Sierra.
Mount Lyell has an altitude of 13,090 feet; Mount Dana, 13,050 feet.
Gibbs Mountain and a number of other peaks have slightly lower
altitudes. The elevational range, then, of this one Park runs through
10,000 feet, or nearly two vertical miles.
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.
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.
[Illustration: BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF YOSEMITE VALLEY LOOKING EASTWARD
TO THE CREST OF THE SIERRA NEVADA
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.
_By permission of the National Park Service, Department of the
Interior_]
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.
Following is one of the most descriptive and eloquent tributes ever
paid to this unrivaled array of stupendous nature statuary:--
Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life. Some lean back in
majestic repose; others, absolutely sheer or nearly so for
thousands of feet, advance beyond their companions in thoughtful
attitudes, giving welcome to storms and calms alike, seemingly
aware, yet heedless, of everything going on about them. Awful in
stern, immovable majesty, how softly these rocks are adorned, and
how fine and reassuring the company they keep: their feet among
beautiful groves and meadows, their brows in the sky, a thousand
flowers leaning confidingly against their feet, bathed in floods
of water, floods of light, while the snow and waterfalls, the
winds and avalanches and clouds shine and sing and wreathe about
them as the years go by, and myriads of small winged
creatures--birds, bees, butterflies--give glad animation and help
to make all the air into music. Down through the middle of the
valley flows the crystal Merced, River of Mercy, peacefully quiet,
reflecting lilies and trees and the onlooking rocks; things frail
and fleeting and types of endurance meeting here and blending in
countless forms, as if into this one mountain mansion Nature had
gathered her choicest treasures, to draw her lovers into close and
confiding communion with her. (John Muir, in "The Yosemite.")