Yosemite National Park is an American national park in California, surrounded 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 an area of 759,620 acres and sits in four counties – centered in Tuolumne and Mariposa, extending north and east to Mono and south to Madera County. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves, 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, and the park supports a diversity of plants and animals.
Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California. The valley is about 7.5 mi (12.1 km) long and 3,000–3,500 ft (910–1,070 m) 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 flow into it, 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 environment and is regarded as the centerpiece of Yosemite National Park.
The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily in Nevada. The Sierra Nevada is part of the American Cordillera, an almost continuous chain of mountain ranges that forms the western "backbone" of the Americas.
The Merced River, in the central part of the U.S. state of California, is a 145-mile (233 km)-long tributary of the San Joaquin River flowing from the Sierra Nevada into the San Joaquin Valley. It is most well known for its swift and steep course through the southern part of Yosemite National Park, where it is the primary watercourse flowing through Yosemite Valley. The river's character changes dramatically once it reaches the plains of the agricultural San Joaquin Valley, where it becomes a slow-moving meandering stream.
Cathedral Peak is part of the Cathedral Range, a mountain range in the south-central portion of Yosemite National Park in eastern Mariposa and Tuolumne Counties. The range is an offshoot of the Sierra Nevada. The peak which lends its name to the range derives its name from its cathedral-shaped peak, which was formed by glacial activity: the peak remained uneroded above the glaciers in the Pleistocene.
Sierra National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located on the western slope of central Sierra Nevada in Central California and bounded on the northwest by Yosemite National Park and the south by Kings Canyon National Park. The forest is known for its mountain scenery and beautiful lakes. Forest headquarters are located in Clovis, California. There are local ranger district offices in North Fork and Prather.
The following is a bibliography of the Sierra Nevada of California, United States, including books on recreation, natural history, and human history.
North Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, California. It is the southernmost summit of Indian Ridge, 0.6 miles (1.0 km) north of Washington Column and the Royal Arches on the northeastern wall of Yosemite Valley. It can be reached by trail from the Tioga Pass Road, or by going up the Yosemite Falls trail and heading east. It can also be reached from Mirror Lakes by the Snow Creek Falls trail going north around Indian Rock and then south again on the Tioga Pass Road trail. The South Face is precipitous.
Tenaya Lake is an alpine lake in Yosemite National Park, located between Yosemite Valley and Tuolumne Meadows. The surface of Tenaya Lake has an elevation of 8,150 feet (2,484 m). The lake basin was formed by glacial action, which left a backdrop of light granite rocks, whose beauty was known to the Native Americans. Today, Tenaya Lake is easily accessible by State Route 120 and is a popular lake for water activities.
Inyo National Forest is a United States National Forest covering parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States; Boundary Peak, the highest point in Nevada; and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, which protects the oldest living trees in the world. The forest, encompassing much of the Owens Valley, was established by Theodore Roosevelt as a way of sectioning off land to accommodate the Los Angeles Aqueduct project in 1907, making the Inyo National Forest one of the least wooded forests in the U.S. National Forest system.
May Lake is a lake in Yosemite National Park, as well as a High Sierra Camp where backpackers can stay in tent cabins located near the lake. There are eight cabins that accommodate a total of thirty six guests. The hike to May Lake is from a parking area off Tioga Pass Road and is 1.2 miles (1.9 km). The lake is overlooked by Mount Hoffmann.
Mount Hoffmann is a prominent peak in northeastern Mariposa County in the center of Yosemite National Park, California, United States. It rises above May Lake and is a day hike of 6.2 miles (10.0 km) (one-way) from Tioga Pass Road. The mountain is named for the cartographer Charles F. Hoffmann, who was part of the California Geological Survey of the Sierra Nevada.
Leavitt Peak is located in the Emigrant Wilderness near Sonora Pass in the eastern Sierra Nevada range of California. Leavitt Peak is located on the Tuolumne County - Mono County line. The Pacific Crest Trail runs close to the east of Leavitt Peak, at an elevation of about 10,800 feet (3,290 m) elevation. The peak offers views south to Yosemite National Park and north towards South Lake Tahoe.
Mono Hot Springs is a summer resort and campground at a group of hot springs in Fresno County, central California. It is located within the Sierra National Forest, 70 miles (110 km) northeast of Fresno via California State Route 168.
The High Sierra Camps are nine rustic lodging facilities located in two national parks and a national monument in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range. Open most years from June or July to September, they are staffed camps with tent cabins and food service facilities. The backcountry camps receive their supplies by pack mules.
Kuna Peak is a summit on the boundary between Mono and Tuolumne counties, in the United States, is the highest point on Kuna Crest. With an elevation of 13,008 feet (3,965 m), Kuna Peak is the 146th-highest summit in the state of California, and is the third-highest mountain in Yosemite National Park.
The protected areas of the Sierra Nevada, a major mountain range located in the U.S. states of California and Nevada, are numerous and highly diverse. Like the mountain range itself, these areas span hundreds of miles along the length of the range, and over 14,000 feet of elevation from the lowest foothills to the summit of Mount Whitney.
Washington Column is a roughly 1800-foot high rock formation, arising from Yosemite Valley. It is east of the Royal Arches, behind the Ahwahnee Hotel. North Dome is above it. Washington Column can be viewed from many points in Yosemite Valley, including the trail to Mirror Lake.
Gaylor Peak is an 11,004-foot-elevation (3,354 meter) mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in northern California, United States. The peak is situated on the common boundary shared by Yosemite National Park with Inyo National Forest, as well as the border shared by Mono County with Tuolumne County. It rises immediately above the park's Tioga Pass entrance station and Tioga Lake. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises approximately 1,400 feet (427 meters) above the lake in one-half mile (1 km). The peak is a popular hiking destination on summer weekends due to easy access via the two-mile Gaylor Lakes Trail from State Route 120 which traverses the east base of the peak.
Mount Lewis is a 12,350-foot-elevation mountain summit located along the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, in Mono County of northern California, United States. It is situated in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, on land managed by Inyo National Forest. The summit lies less than one mile outside of Yosemite National Park's eastern boundary, and some of the lower western slope lies within the park. The mountain rises 1.8 mile southeast of Mono Pass, 1.5 mile northeast of Parker Pass, and two miles north of Parker Peak, which is the nearest higher neighbor. Topographic relief is significant as it rises over 5,200 feet (1,1585 meters) above Grant Lake in four miles which makes the mountain visible from Highway 395.
