Yosemite National Park

Yosemite
Designation	National park
Location	California USA
Nearest City	Modesto, California
Latitude	37° 45' N
Longitude	119° 30' W
Area	761,266 acres 3080.73 km²
Date of Establishment	September 25 1890
Visitation	3,380,038 (2003)
Governing Body	National Park Service
IUCN category	Ib (Wilderness Area) II (National Park)

Yosemite National Park (pron. yo-SEM-me-tee, SAMPA: IO"sEm@ti) is a national park largely in Mariposa County, and Tuolumne County, California, United States. The park covers an area of approximately 1,189 mile² (3,079 km²) and stretches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Over 3 million people visit Yosemite each year. The park is about 3.5 hours east of San Francisco, California by car.

Geography

Yosemite Valley represents only one percent of the park area, but this is where most visitors arrive and stay. El Capitan, a prominent granite cliff that looms over the valley, is one of the most popular world destinations for rock climbers because of its diverse range of difficulties and numerous established climbing routes in addition to its year-round accessibility. Impressive granite domes such as Sentinel Dome and Half Dome rise 3,000 feet/914 m and 4,800 feet/1463 m (respectively) above the valley floor.

The high country of Yosemite contains beautiful areas, such as Tuolumne Meadows, Dana Meadows, the Clark Range, the Cathedral Range, and the Kuna Crest. The Sierra crest and the Pacific Crest Trail run through Yosemite, with peaks of red metamorphic rock, such as Mount Dana and Mount Gibbs, and granite peaks, such as Mount Conness. Mount Lyell is the highest point in the park and Lyell Glacier is the largest in the Sierra Nevada.

The park has groves of ancient sequoia trees and also hosts Mule Deer and black bears. The black bears of Yosemite were once famous for breaking into parked cars to steal food.

Yosemite is surrounded by wilderness areas: the Ansel Adams Wilderness to the southeast, the Hoover Wilderness to the northeast, and the Emigrant Wilderness to the north.

Temperature decreases with increasing elevation and precipitation increases with elevation until around 8000 feet (2400 m) when it slowly decreases to the crest.

Yosemite Valley

Half Dome

History

Main article: History of the Yosemite area

Miwok and Paiute peoples lived in the area for decades prior to the first white explorations into the region. A band of Miwok called the Ahwahnechee lived in Yosemite Valley when the first Caucasians entered it.

Pywiack Dome, Mount Dana, and Tenaya Lake, as seen from near Olmstead Point

The California Gold Rush in the mid 19th century dramatically increased White travel in the area. United States Army Major James Savage led the Mariposa Battalion into Yosemite Valley in 1851 while in pursuit of around 200 Ahwaneechees led by Chief Tenaya as part of the Mariposa Wars. Accounts from this battalion were the first confirmed cases of Caucasions entering the valley. Attached to Savage's unit was Dr. Lafayette Bunnell, the company physician who later wrote about his awestruck impressions of the valley in The Discovery of the Yosemite. Bunnel is credited with naming the valley after what he thought was the name of the band they were pursing. Correspondence and articles written by members of the battalion helped to popularize the valley and surrounding area.

Tenaya and the rest of the Ahwahnechee were eventually captured and their village burned. They were removed to a reservation near Fresno, California but some were later allowed to return to the valley but got in trouble after attacking a group of eight miners in 1852. The band fled to take refuge with the nearby Mono tribe, only to betrayed their hospitality - each was tracked down and killed by the Mono.

Entrepreneur James Hutchings, artist Thomas Ayres, and two others ventured into the area in 1855, becoming the valley's first tourists. Hutchings wrote articles and books about this and later excursions in the area and Ayres' scretchs became the first accurate drawings of many prominent features. Photographer Charles Leander Weed took the first photographs of the Valley's features in 1859. Later photographers included Ansel Adams.

Wawona was an Indian encampment in what is now the south western part of the park. Settler Galen Clark discovered the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia in Wawona in 1856. Simple lodgings were built as well as roads to the area. In 1879 the Wawona Hotel was built to serve tourists visiting the Grove. As tourism increased the number of trails and hotels also increased.

Concerned by the effects of commercial interests, several prominent people advocated for protection of the area. A park bill passed both houses of the United States Congress and was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on June 30, 1864. Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove were ceded to California as a state park and a board of commissioners was proclaimed two years later.

Galen Clark was appointed by the commission as the park's first guardian but neither Clark nor the commissioners had the authority to evict homesteaders (which included Hutchings). The issue was not settled until 1875 when the land holdings were invalidated. Clark and the reigning commissioners were ousted in 1880 and Hutchings became the new park guardian.

Access to the park by tourists improved in the early years of the park and conditions in the valley were made more hospitable. Tourism started to significantly increase after the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869 but the long horseback ride needed to reach the area was a deterrent. Three stagecoach roads were built in the mid-1870s to provide better access to the growing number of visitors to the valley.

Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir

Scotland-born naturalist John Muir first wrote many articles popularizing the area and increasing scientific interest in it. Muir was one of the first to theorize that the major landforms in Yosemite were created by large alpine glaciers, bucking established scientists such as Josiah Whitney who regarded Muir as an amateur. Muir also wrote scientific papers on the area's biology.

Over-grazing of meadows (especially by sheep, logging of Giant Sequoia, and other damage, caused Muir to become an advocate for further protection. Muir convinced prominent guests of the importance of putting the area under federal protection. One such guest was Robert Underwood Johnson, editor of Century Magazine. Through Johnson, he was able to help pass an act of Congress that created Yosemite Natinal Park on October 1, 1890. The State of California, however, retained control of the Valley and Grove. Muir also helped persuade local officials to virtually eliminate grazing from the Yosemite High Country.

The newly-created national park came under the jurisdiction of the United States Army's Fourth Cavalry Regiment on May 19, 1891 and set up camp in Wawona. By the late 1890s sheep grazing was no longer a problem and many other improvements were done by the Army. The Cavalry could not intervene to help the worsening condition of the Valley or Grove.

Muir and his Sierra Club continued to lobby the government and influential people for the creation of a unified Yosemite National Park. Then in May of 1903, Theodore Roosevelt, who was then President of the United States, camped with John Muir near Glacier Point for three days. On that trip, Muir convinced Roosevelt to take control of the Valley and the Grove away from California and give it to the federal government. In 1906, Roosevelt signed a bill that did precisely that.

The National Park Service was formed in 1916 and Yosemite was transfered to that agency's jurisdiction. Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, Tioga Pass Road, along with campgrounds at Tenaya and Merced lakes were also completed in 1916. Automobiles started to enter the park in ever increasing numbers following the construction of all weather highways to the park.

To the north of Yosemite Valley but within the park is Hetch Hetchy Valley, which was slated for flooding to create a reservoir and hydroelectric power plant to benefit far away San Francisco. A nationally-polarized fight, pitting preservationists like Muir and his Sierra Club against conservationists like Gifford Pinchot, ensued. Congress eventually authorized the O'Shaughnessy Dam in 1913 through passage of the Raker Act.

Since then preservationists have convinced Congress to set aside about 95% of the park in a highly protected wilderness area. The Park Service has also been trending away from allowing touristy inducements to visit the park such the famous Firefall (red hot embers were pushed off of a cliff near Glacier Point at night).

Geology

Main article: Geology of the Yosemite area

The area around Yosemite National Park was on the passive edge of a very young North America from the Precambrian to the early Paleozoic. At first sediment quietly settled in shallow water over the passive margin. Compressive forces from a newly-formed subduction zone in the mid-Paleozoic fused seabed rocks and sediment to the continent. Heat generated from subduction created island arcs of volcanos (not unlike Japan) that were also thrusted into the continent in the area of the park. These volcanic and sedimentary rocks were later heavily metamorphosed.

Most of the current landform of Yosemite National Park is composed of granitic rock which was formed below the surface 210 to 80 million years ago. This plutonic rock was emplaced as molten plutons about 6 miles (10 km) under the surface as a result of heat generated from subduction off the coast of North America. Over time most of the overlying rock (made mostly of sedimentary and volcanic rock) was uplifted along with the rest of the Sierra Nevada and transported or eroded away from the area (the Sierras started to uplift in earnest two million years ago). This exposed the granitic rock to surface pressures and it responded by exfoliation (responsible for the rounded shape of the many domes in the park) and mass wasting following the numerous fracture joint planes (cracks; especially vertical ones) in the now solidified plutons.

A series of glaciations from about 30 million years ago until around 8000 BC further modified the area. These ice age glaciers accelerated exfoliation and mass wasting through ice-wedging, glacial plucking, scouring/abrasion and the release of pressure after the retreat of each glaciation. Severe glaciations formed very large glaciers that tended to strip and transport top soil and talus piles far down glacial valleys while less severe glaciations deposited a great deal of glacial till further up in the valleys.

Biology

Main article: Biology of the Sierra Nevada

With habitats ranging from thick foothill chaparral to expanses of alpine rock, Yosemite National Park supports over 250 species of vertebrates, which include fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. This high diversity of species is also the result of habitats in Yosemite that are largely intact, compared to areas outside the park where various human activities have resulted in habitat degradation or destruction.

Along much of Yosemite's western boundary, habitats are dominated by mixed coniferous forests of Ponderosa Pine, Sugar Pine, Incense-cedar, White Fir, and Douglas Fir, and a few stands of Giant Sequoia, interspersed by areas of Black Oak and Canyon Live Oak. A relatively high diversity of wildlife species are supported by these habitats, due to relatively mild, lower-elevation climate, and the mixture of habitat types and plant species. Wildlife species typically found in these habitats include Black Bear, Bobcat, Gray Fox, Mountain Kingsnake, Gilbert's Skink, White-headed Woodpecker, Brown Creeper, Spotted Owl, and a wide variety of bat species. In the case of bats, large snags are important as roost sites.

Going higher in elevation, the coniferous forests become purer stands of Red Fir, Western White Pine, Jeffrey Pine, and Lodgepole Pine. Fewer wildlife species tend to be found in these habitats, due to their higher elevation, and lower complexity. Species likely to be found include Golden- mantled Ground Squirrel, Chickaree, Marten, Steller's Jay, Hermit Thrush, and Northern Goshawk. Reptiles are not common, but include Rubber Boa, Western Fence Lizard, and Alligator Lizard.

As the landscape rises, trees become smaller and more sparse, with stands broken by areas of exposed granite. These include Lodgepole Pine, Whitebark Pine, and Mountain Hemlock that, at highest elevations, give way to vast expanses of granite as treeline is reached. The climate in these habitats is harsh and the growing season is short, but species such as Pika, Yellow-bellied Marmot, White-tailed Hare, Clark's Nutcracker, and Rosy Finch are adapted to these conditions. Also, the treeless alpine habitats are the areas favored by Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep. This species, however, is now found in the Yosemite area only around Tioga Pass, where a small, reintroduced population exists.

At a variety of elevations, meadows provide important, productive habitat for wildlife. Animals come to feed on the green grasses and use the flowing and standing water found in many meadows. Predators, in turn, are attracted to these areas. The interface between meadow and forest is also favored by many animal species because of the proximity of open areas for foraging, and cover for protection. Species that are highly dependent upon meadow habitat include Great Gray Owl, Willow Flycatcher, Yosemite Toad, and Mountain Beaver.

Despite the richness of high-quality habitats in Yosemite, three species have become extinct in the park within historical time, and another 37 species currently have special status under either California or federal endangered species legislation. The most serious current threats to Yosemite's wildlife and the ecosystems they occupy include loss of a natural fire regime, exotic species, air pollution, habitat fragmentation, and climate change. On a more local basis, factors such as road kills and the availability of human food have affected some wildlife species.

Activities

El Capitan

Hiking

Over 800 miles (1300 km) of trails await excited hikers - anything from the easy stroll, to the grueling hikes up several park mountains, to multi-day backpack trips.

The park is best divided up into 5 sections for the day-user - Yosemite Valley, Wawona/Mariposa Gove/ Glacier Point, Tuolumne Meadows, and Hetch Hetchy, and Crane Flat/White Wolf. There are numerous books out there describing park trails, as well as free information availible from the Park Service in Yosemite. Most park workers strongly encourage guests to experience other portions of the park other than Yosemite Valley.

Climbing

Rock climbing is a very important part of Yosemite. Camp 4 - a walk in campground in Yosemite Valley - has been said to be one of the most important places in the world to the history of rock climbing. Cimbers can generally be spotted in the non-snowy months on anything from ten foot (3 m) high boulders to the face of El Capitan. Classes are offered by numerous groups on rock climbing

Summer Activites

• Backpacking - Between Late spring and early fall, much of the park is open to multi-day backpack trips. All overnight trips into the back country require a wilderness permit and most require approved bear-resistant food storage. Check with the park wilderness office for more info

• Bicycling - over 15 miles (24 km) of bike trails are present in Yosemite Valley. It should be noted under Park Service regs, bikes are only allowed on paved areas. There is no mountain biking in Yosemite National Park

• Swimming/Rafting - Generally about mid-summer, the Merced River in Yosemite Valley becomes warm enough and is still deep enough to raft down substantial portions of the river. For those who don't like the cold water, a few heated pools are availible.

• Horseback riding - Stables are open in the summer offering guided rides (generally mule). Public Stables are present in Yosemite Valley, Wawona, and Tuolumne Meadows. Many operations outside Yosemite ride horses into the park. Horses are allowed in many sections of the "backcountry", however visitors are advised to check with the park wilderness office for more info.

Winter Activites

Much of the park closes due to heavy snow in winter. However Yosemite Valley is open all year long.

• Skiing - Badger Pass Ski Area (the oldest ski area in California) opens in winter. Skiing is not up to par with Lake Tahoe or Colorado resorts, but has its own charm being in Yosemite. The are several downhill runs and a ski school. Much of the park is open to cross-country skiing, with several backcountry ski huts open for use. Wilderness permits are required for backcountry overnight ski trips.

• Snowshoeing - Also known as winter hiking, snowshoes are commonly used to experience portions of Yosemite. Many guided snowshoe walks are conducted in winter by the Park Service and by other organizations

• Ice skating - The Curry Village Ice rink is open between November and March. Smaller than its historical size, the rink still offers room for the figure skaters and those with poor balance. Rink runs 2-3 hr sessions, and cleans ice in between sessions.

References

• Geology of National Parks: Fifth Edition, Ann G. Harris, Esther Tuttle, Sherwood D., Tuttle (Iowa, Kendall/Hunt Publishing; 1997) ISBN 0-7872-5353-7
• Yosemite: A Visiters Companion, George Wuerthner, (Stackpole Books; 1994) ISBN 0-8117-2598-7
• Yosemite National Park: A Natural History Guide to Yosemite and Its Trails, Jeffrey P. Schaffer, (Wilderness Press, Berkeley; 1999) ISBN 0-89997-244-6
• National Park Service: Yosemite Wildlife (http://www.nps.gov/yose/nature/wildlife.htm) (adapted public domain text)

See also: List of guidebooks about the Sierra Nevada

External links

• Official site: Yosemite National Park (http://www.nps.gov/yose)
• The Yosemite Association (http://www.yosemite.org)
• DNC Parks and Resort @ Yosemite (http://www.yosemitepark.com)
• The Yosemite Institute (http://www.yni.org/yi)
• Yosemite National Park Pictures (http://www.nationalparksgallery.com/parks/Yosemite-National-Park)
• More photos of Yosemite (http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np.yosemite.html)
• Photographic virtual tour of Yosemite. (http://www.Untraveledroad.com/USA/Parks/Yosemite.htm)

bg:Йосемити (национален парк) de:Yosemite-Nationalpark fr:Parc national de Yosemite ja:ヨセミテ国立公園 pl:Park Narodowy Yosemite