@Yosemite National Park is located in the @Sierra @Nevada Mountains of central @California, a setting so spectacular and awe-inspiring that @John @Muir, a naturalist and the Sierra Club founder, called it "a landscape ... that after all my wanderings still appears as the most beautiful I have ever beheld."
Over millions of years, earthquakes, glaciers, and other forces of nature have left indelible footprints on this landscape, footprints that are still visible in the towering granite cliffs, thundering waterfalls, steep mountains, and deep alpine lakes, and they all beckon visitors to explore, climb, photograph, and experience their grandeur.
Yosemite's geological history has been evolving for some 500 million years, from the area's initial position on the ocean floor, to its later incarnations as gentle, rolling hills, and then the steep Sierra Nevada mountain range replete with deep river canyons.
Three million years ago, the ice age brought glaciers that scraped and carved the valleys and canyons with such force that the remaining granite still shows the direction of the glacial movement. Those same glaciers created massive rock formations that present some of the most difficult and popular climbing challenges in the world for today's enthusiastic rock climbers.
When the last glacier finally melted 10,000 years ago, rock debris dammed the valley and created Lake Yosemite, while tributary creeks plummeted off sheer cliffs and gave birth to the park's famed waterfalls. Sediment continued to fill the lake until it eventually formed the present valley floor.
Yosemite's geological evolution continues today as Mirror Lake slowly fills with sediment in much the same way as Lake Yosemite did. 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.
In 1889, @Robert @Underwood @Johnson, editor of Century Magazine, and John Muir had growing concerns about the devastating effects of sheep grazing in the high country, and they launched a successful campaign to persuade Congress to set aside this area as a national park. On October 1, 1890, Congress set aside more than 1,500 square miles of reserved forest lands, and today 94.5% of the park's 1,170 square mile area is dedicated as true wilderness for all who visit to enjoy.
At Muir's invitation, @Theodore @Roosevelt visited Yosemite to experience its splendor first-hand. By all accounts, Roosevelt was so impressed he became instrumental in the return of Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove to federal protection in 1906.
In 1932, the @Wawona Basin, including the Wawona Hotel and golf course, were added to the National Park to bring it to its current 1,170 square miles.
The classic beauty and fascinating ecosystems of the Sierra Nevada mountain range are well represented in Yosemite National Park, where almost 95% of the park is designated wilderness. A place retaining its primeval character and influence, this wilderness area provides opportunities for solitude and unconfined types of experience. The lands within the wilderness range in elevation from 290 feet to 13,114 feet, the latter at the summit of Mt.
