Yosemite National Park 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 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.
Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California, United States. 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.
Half Dome is a quartz monzonite batholith at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, California. It is a well-known rock formation in the park, named for its distinct shape. One side is a sheer face while the other three sides are smooth and round, making it appear like a dome cut in half. It stands at nearly 8,800 feet above sea level and is composed of quartz monzonite, an igneous rock that solidified several thousand feet within the Earth. At its core are the remains of a magma chamber that cooled slowly and crystallized beneath the Earth's surface. The solidified magma chamber was then exposed and cut in half by erosion, therefore leading to the geographic name Half Dome.
Mount Dana is a mountain in the U.S. state of California. Its summit marks the eastern boundary of Yosemite National Park and the western boundary of the Ansel Adams Wilderness. At an elevation of 13,061 feet (3,981 m), it is the second highest mountain in Yosemite, and the northernmost summit in the Sierra Nevada which is over 13,000 feet (3,962.4 m) in elevation. Mount Dana is the highest peak in Yosemite that accessible to summit. The mountain is named in honor of James Dwight Dana, who was a professor of natural history and geology at Yale.
The exposed geology of the Yosemite area includes primarily granitic rocks with some older metamorphic rock. The first rocks were laid down in Precambrian times, when the area around Yosemite National Park was on the edge of a very young North American continent. The sediment that formed the area first settled in the waters of a shallow sea, and compressive forces from a subduction zone in the mid-Paleozoic fused the seabed rocks and sediments, appending them to the continent. Heat generated from the subduction created island arcs of volcanoes that were also thrust into the area of the park. In time, the igneous and sedimentary rocks of the area were later heavily metamorphosed.
Lembert Dome is a granite dome rock formation in Yosemite National Park in the US state of California. The dome soars 800 feet (240 m) above Tuolumne Meadows and the Tuolumne River and can be hiked starting at the Tioga Road in the heart of Tuolumne Meadows, 8 miles (13 km) west of the Tioga Pass Entrance to Yosemite National Park. The landform is an example of a rôche moutonnée with clear lee and stoss slopes.
Sentinel Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, United States. It lies on the south wall of Yosemite Valley, 0.8 miles (1.3 km) southwest of Glacier Point and 1.4 miles (2.3 km) northeast of Profile Cliff.
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.
Tenaya Canyon is a dramatic and dangerous canyon in Yosemite National Park, California, USA, that runs from the outlet of Tenaya Lake 10 miles down to Yosemite Valley, carrying water in Tenaya Creek through a series of spectacular cascades and pools and thence into a deep canyon below Cloud's Rest, a giant granite mountain adjacent to Half Dome. Waterfalls on the creek inside the canyon include Pywiack Cascade and Three Chute Falls, near Mirror Lake.
Little Yosemite Valley is a smaller glacial valley upstream in the Merced River drainage from the Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park. The Merced River meanders through the 3.5 mi (5.6 km) long flat valley, draining out over Nevada Fall and Vernal Fall before emptying into the main Yosemite Valley. It can be reached by a day hike from the main valley, and is the most popular area in the Yosemite Wilderness. The Valley provides access to nearby destinations such as the back side of Half Dome, Clouds Rest and the High Sierra Camp at Merced Lake.
Pywiack Dome is a prominent 600 foot granite dome in Yosemite National Park, located 0.7 miles (1.1 km) north-east of Tenaya Lake, 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Tuolumne Meadows and 200 feet (61.0 m) from the Tioga Road. It is quite near Harlequin Dome, and North and South Whizz Domes are north.
Tenaya Peak is a mountain in the Yosemite high country, rising above Tenaya Lake. Tenaya Peak is named after Chief Tenaya, who met the Mariposa Battalion near the shores of the Tenaya lake. In 1851, the Mariposa Battalion under Captain John Boling expelled Chief Tenaya and his people from what was to become Yosemite National Park.
Hiking, rock climbing, and mountain climbing around Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park has many options.
Tuolumne Peak is a mountain, in Yosemite National Park, in the area of Tuolumne Meadows. It is a fractured granite, twin summited peak, and is close to geographic center of the park. Tuolumne Peak is located approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) northeast of Mount Hoffmann via a granite ridge-line. It is climbed less often than Hoffman, probably due to a more difficult approach.
Kuna Crest is a mountain range near Tuolumne Meadows, in Yosemite National Park, California.
Mount Haeckel is a 13,424-foot (4,092 m) mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in northern California, United States. It is situated on the shared boundary of Kings Canyon National Park with John Muir Wilderness, and along the common border of Fresno County with Inyo County. It is 21.5 miles (34.6 km) west of the community of Big Pine, 1.27 miles (2.04 km) south-southeast of Mount Darwin, and one mile north-northeast of Mount Fiske, which is the nearest higher neighbor. Mount Haeckel ranks as the 71st highest summit in California.
North Guard is a remote 13,327-foot-elevation (4,062-meter) mountain summit located near the northern end of the Great Western Divide of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, in Tulare County of northern California. It is situated in Kings Canyon National Park, 0.9 miles (1.4 km) southeast of Mount Farquhar, and 0.6 miles (0.97 km) north-northwest of Mount Brewer, which is the nearest higher neighbor. Topographic relief is significant as the east aspect rises 3,858 feet above East Lake in three miles. North Guard ranks as the 87th highest summit in California, and the second highest point of the northern Great Western Divide. It's not as high as Mount Brewer, but offers better climbing and is considered one of the classic climbing routes in the Sierra Nevada.
Mount Hitchcock is a 13,186-foot-elevation (4,019-meter) mountain summit located west of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Tulare County, California. It is situated in Sequoia National Park, and is two miles (3.2 km) south-southwest of Mount Whitney, 1.3 miles (2.1 km) southwest of Mount Muir, and 1.1 miles (1.8 km) west of Trail Crest. Topographic relief is significant as it rises approximately 1,500 feet above Hitchcock Lakes in less than one-half mile. Mt. Hitchcock ranks as the 112th highest summit in California.
Mount Johnson is a 12,871-foot-elevation mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, United States. It is situated on the boundary between Kings Canyon National Park and John Muir Wilderness, and along the county line between Fresno County and Inyo County. It is also 18 miles (29 km) west of the community of Big Pine, 0.9 miles (1.4 km) southeast of Mount Gilbert, and one mile (1.6 km) west-northwest of Mount Goode. Mount Johnson ranks as the 187th-highest summit in California. Topographic relief is significant as the southwest aspect rises 3,670 feet above LeConte Canyon in 1.5 mile, and the north aspect rises 3,100 feet above South Lake in 2.5 miles.
