USA 2006: Las Vegas & California
(continued)
June 25th & 26th:
Yosemite Valley is perhaps the single most dramatic piece of geology found anywhere on earth. Just seven
miles long and one mile across at its widest point, the valley is walled by near vertical, three-thousand-foot-high cliffs whose sides
are streaked by cascading waterfalls and whose tops, a variety of domes and pinnacles, form a jagged silhouette against the sky. At
ground level, grassy meadows are framed by oak, cedar, maple, and fir trees, with a wide variety of wild flowers and wildlife
in attendance.
From Lee Vining we enter Yosemite National Park its east entrance on Tioga
Pass Road. Just outside the entrance, the Ellery and Tioga Lakes provide superb foregrounds to the stunning scenery
First protected in 1864, Yosemite National Park is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, there
are deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, and a vast wilderness area.
(left) the view from Glacier Point
(left)
Tuolumne Meadows
(left and right)
Half Dome
El Capitan: one of the largest pieces of exposed granite in the world,
rising 3,593-feet above the valley floor