In 1996, the Happy Isles rockslide sent 80,000 tons of rock to the valley floor at 160 mph -- proof that powerful forces are still at work.
The park has a rich organizational history, as well. The area's first residents were Native @Americans, who inhabited the region perhaps as far back as 10,000 years ago. The most recent tribe was the @Miwok, who called Yosemite Valley @Ahwahnee, the place of the gaping mouth, and who called themselves @Ahwahneechee.
The discovery of gold in California's foothills brought the first non-native settlers to the region around 1850; dazzled by the beauty and grandeur of the landscape, they quickly spread the word of its existence, and in 1855, the first tourists came to visit.
About the same time, @Galen @Clark homesteaded to Yosemite Valley and began his crusade to protect the area. Clark so fiercely and loyally protected Yosemite until his death at age 96 that he became known as the "Guardian of Yosemite."
In 1854, @Abraham @Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant that set aside Yosemite Valley and the @Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias as the first state park. In 1864, Yosemite became the first territory ever set aside by the United States @Congress for public use and protection; however, it took another thirty-six years and the efforts of Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, and other influential conservationists to bring all the lands of today's National Park under federal protection.
