Yosemite National Park is a national park 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 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.
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.
Sequoiadendron giganteum, also known as the giant sequoia, giant redwood or Sierra redwood is a coniferous tree, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae. Giant sequoia specimens are the most massive trees on Earth. They occur naturally only in groves on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California.
Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in Yosemite National Park, dropping a total of 2,425 feet (739 m) from the top of the upper fall to the base of the lower fall. Located in the Sierra Nevada of California, it is a major attraction in the park, especially in late spring when the water flow is at its peak.
Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States. The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River. For thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from the United States in the 1850s, the valley was inhabited by Native Americans who practiced subsistence hunting-gathering. During the late 19th century, the valley was renowned for its natural beauty – often compared to that of Yosemite Valley – but also targeted for the development of water supply for irrigation and municipal interests. The controversy over damming Hetch Hetchy became mired in the political issues of the day. The law authorizing the dam passed Congress on December 7, 1913. In 1923, the O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed on the Tuolumne River, flooding the entire valley under the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. The dam and reservoir are the centerpiece of the Hetch Hetchy Project, which in 1934 began to deliver water 167 miles (269 km) west to San Francisco and its client municipalities in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.
Multnomah Falls is a waterfall located on Multnomah Creek in the Columbia River Gorge, east of Troutdale, between Corbett and Dodson, Oregon, United States. The waterfall is accessible from the Historic Columbia River Highway and Interstate 84. Spanning two tiers on basalt cliffs, it is the tallest waterfall in the state of Oregon at 620 ft (189 m) in height. The Multnomah Creek Bridge, built in 1914, crosses below the falls, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Silver Strand Falls drops 574 feet (175m) along Meadow Brook, at the western end of Yosemite Valley, within Yosemite National Park. The falls are commonly thought to drop 1170 feet (356m); this is incorrect. The name Widow's Tears had been applied to Silver Strand Falls in the past, but the lower-volume waterfall located one drainage to the east of Meadow Brook is now known as Widow's Tears and is thought to drop 1,170 feet (360 m), hence the confusion regarding the height.
Bridal Veil Falls Provincial Park is a BC Park located on the Trans-Canada Highway just east of Rosedale, British Columbia, Canada, part of the City of Chilliwack. The community of Bridal Falls is located adjacent to the falls and park as well as the interchange between the Trans-Canada and BC Highway 9 and has a variety of highway-based tourism services. Access to the falls requires a short hike from the parking lot and well groomed trails, taking most groups 15-25 minutes.
Taughannock Falls State Park is a 750-acre (3.0 km2) state park located in the town of Ulysses in Tompkins County, New York in the United States. The park is northwest of Ithaca near Trumansburg.
Sentinel Falls is a long series of cascades descending into Yosemite Valley, in the U.S. state of California, alongside Sentinel Rock. It is a tiered waterfall consisting of 6 major drops totaling 1,920 feet (590 m), the longest single drop being 500 feet (150 m). It ranks on many lists as the twelfth-highest waterfall in the world, although in truth it is roughly the sixtieth-tallest, as most weaker waterfalls do not make it into such lists. Despite its immense height it has a relatively low drainage and is usually dry by July.
Wapama Falls is the larger of two waterfalls located on the northern wall of Hetch Hetchy Valley below Hetch Hetchy Dome, in Yosemite National Park. It flows almost year-round and during peak flow has been known to inundate the trail bridge crossing its base, making the falls impossible to pass. The falls consist of two primary drops angled roughly 60 degrees to each other, and a broad cascade at its base.
Helmcken Falls is a 141 m (463 ft) waterfall on the Murtle River within Wells Gray Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada. The protection of Helmcken Falls was one of the reasons for the creation of Wells Gray Provincial Park in 1939.
Horsetail Fall, located in Yosemite National Park in California, is a seasonal waterfall that flows in the winter and early spring. The fall occurs on the east side of El Capitan. If Horsetail Fall is flowing in February and the weather conditions are just right, the setting sun illuminates the waterfall, making it glow orange and red. This natural phenomenon is often referred to as the "Firefall", a name that pays homage to Yosemite Firefall, the manmade event that once took place in Yosemite.
Yosemite Creek is a 15-mile-long (24 km) creek of the Sierra Nevada, located in Yosemite National Park, Mariposa County, California, United States.
Blum Basin Falls is a waterfall in Whatcom County, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in North Cascades National Park on the headwaters of Blum Creek, a tributary of the Baker River. Fed by two small retreating glaciers and several snowfields on the southern side of Mount Blum, the waterfall is formed by the largest meltwater stream that feeds the mainstem of Blum Creek. The falls tumble 1,680 feet (510 m) down a high glacial headwall several miles within the national park in two distinct stages; the first is a series of slides over rounded rock, above the tree line, and the second is a series of near-vertical plunges to the forested valley below. Although most of the falls is clearly visible, parts of it are obscured by tall pines that grow at its base. There is no trail leading to the waterfall.
Yosemite National Park is located in the central Sierra Nevada of California. Three wilderness areas are adjacent to Yosemite: the Ansel Adams Wilderness to the southeast, the Hoover Wilderness to the northeast, and the Emigrant Wilderness to the north.
The top of Ribbon Fall.
Ribbon Fall as seen from its base. Note the ice cone.
