TOSEMITE VALLEY. 



ley level, some of them of centuries' growth ami symmetrical form, nnd add much to the charm of 



great loll in- -ii they an- eluarl.el by the- t"- this |iiiiiinn of the valley. Further uj), and on ihe 



:,-l which the) measure iln ir height. oppeiMtc side, rises a triple group known as llio 



To tlicse \ ...-nts of beauty must be aiuli-d 'J nree Brothers, or, as named hv the Indians, the 



cam which wanders down tin: centre ot tin- PompoupaMu or Leaping Frog Bockj. Tin-\ 



U is of mountain origin and icy cold, while indeed, irom below, like three huge frogs Bitting 



:cr is so clear that every detail of its bottom with ilu-ir heads all turned in the same dircetioii"! 



van be seen, the mountain trout which haunt its The highest of tliem is OS'JO feet in altiluil. 



depth* being revealed in all their graceful clianns allorels trout ils summit a superb view e,l tbc \alley 



to the eye of the eager angler. and it-. surroundings. Nearly opposite these pni- 



Tue Vo-einile was discovered in the spring of jects a dill' which terminal! -s with a !'disk 



liy a party of soldiers in pursuit of a hand of nf granite. The total height is liul:; fret, ai.d its re- 



at.'m -Indian*, who made this valley (heir strong- semi'lance to n gigantic watch toner has gaimd it 



liold. considering it inaccessible to the whites. The the name of Sentinel Rock. 



of its great beauty qniekiy brought tourists 1 >in-< -tly opposite Sentinel Rock appears w lint is 



thither, and has spread until the Yosemite Valley justly regarded as the most wonderful feature o| the, 



his beeomu one of the place's of pilgrimage of the valley seem TV. the grand and lo!i\ "i use mite Falls, 



night-eer* of Ihe world. In isi.i - took whidi desreu'ds in all -Jtiiidteet in {wo catarai Is and 



ires to preserve this remarkable locality from n series of cascades. The lirst of these is : 



the greed of speculation by setting it aside a> a per- 

 manent national park. The Yosemite Valley and 

 : irip'isa urove of big trees wen- granted to 



jail of 1.500 feet. Then the stream descends C.-JC, I,-, t 



in a si-ries of cascades, and makes a tinal plm 



400 feet to the bottom, seeming to shake the e ai'lh ;;s 



California em the express conditions that llu-y should it strikes the ground, while its' roar can be heard lar 

 l,e kept "lor pui>lic, I!-,', resort, and recreation," away. The stream is about _>."> li et in width at lliu 

 and "be inalienable for all time.'' They were crest, while the total depth of the descent is mure 

 . 1111. 1, -r the care of guardians appointed by than a half mile. No other cataract in the world 

 'Vcriiiueut, the guardian of the Yosemite re- can compare with this in height and romantic 

 siding in the valley during the season in which it is beauty, the celebrated Slubl.ach of Switzerland I e- 

 , Me to visitors, and having under his direction ing greatly its inferior both in height and volume. 



It is seen at its best from May to .July, hi Aniu-t 

 and September both this and the lirulal Veil Fall 



At a short distance above the Yo?emite Falls an 

 nfllucnl Mows into the Merced, making its way to 

 the level below, not by a cataract but down a deep 

 gorge known as Teneja Canon. At 11, is point r.rc 

 some of the most remarkable cliff cll'ects of the 



a small army of guide's, drive'rs, care-takers, ami 



others who make- up the- resielent population. In 



addition to the residence of the guardian, the valley shrink almost to nothing from decrease in von 



contains three well-kept hotels, a posl-oll'iiv. a small (heir feeding streams. East of the fall is a dill .Mi.':n 



chapel, in which religious services are held, ami feet high whoso summit is e asily reached by a trail 



various minor builelin-_'s. such as stables, guides' up Indian Canon ami allords a magnilice nl'\ icw eif 



collage's, eti'., the-se' be-ing all so situate el as to detract the whole' region. 



in no sense from the attractions of the natural 



scenery. 



In paining up the valley from its outlet the first 

 granel feature that men-Is the eye is the huge- and 

 fifty dill' known a~ "El Capitan." This is no! 

 hign by scye-ral thousand I'e.-t as some' of the 1 others, whole valley. From the' northern wall rises a lolly 



Ml s,, ve-rtii-ally from base to summit, anil columnar mass known as Washingte-n Column, ini- 

 Btandl out so proniiiie-ntly from the general line of mediately to the left of wh'u-h is a 'scrii s of immerse- 

 the mountain wall as to make- it the- most striking arches in the r.ick strata named The Royal Are lies, 

 ('at lire of the- valley, and I lie chief of its lofty difls. 

 'El Capital!"' is 3900 feet high, its side's are bare 1 

 anil smooth, ami. in the words of I'rof. .1. J). Whit- 

 ney. " it is doubtful if anywhere in the- world there 

 is prc-'-nii'il so sqn-ircly cut, so lofty, and so impos- 

 ing a face of rock.'' 



: to soften the grandeur eif Ibis great cliff, on 

 the' eipposite- siele- of the valley there dc-e-e-nds in in- 



.able charm one- of the- most beautiful of its by which tourists can now reach its summit. I 

 many cascade*, the celebrated Bridal Ye-il Fall. In neit without a long anil weary climb. Between 

 this fall 1 he- st re-am li-aps from Ihe- brow of a dilP.KHI these ehuncs lie -s in tin- heel of the- canon the e'xi|iii- 



Above these towers the symmetrical Xorlh I>omc 

 to the height of .'i.">| ; S feet.' Opposite to ibis, on the 

 other side of Tcncya Canon, rises the loltiist and 

 most imposing of all the dills of the valley, the \a>t 

 granite crest known as the Half I>me.' which as- 

 cends to a height of 47:!7 feet. This mighty (lilt; 

 m-ai'iy a mile in vertical height, was loin; con.-'idcrcd 

 inaccessible, but in IST'.t improvements were made 



feet high, and comes down in a broad sheet of tre- 

 mendous white sprav, which is converted into mist 

 bv the depth of (lie descent. ,\- il is -waved by the 

 wind in ever changing yet ever pie asing outlines, the 

 title uiven it seems mo-t appropriate to iis lleccy 



In-auly. Opposite this fall, down a ih-ep receH of 

 rock near llie lower corner of El Capital), the 

 Virgin's Tears Fall llows o\,-r ihe dill' and descends 



site little Mirror Lake, formed by an expansion of 

 Tcncya Fork, while beautifully ivllect in ilsspark- 

 lingly clear surface the surrounding dill" and (he 

 Overhanging mass further up the canon called 

 Mount Watkins. 



The main valley ends almiit two miles above 



oM-mite Falls. Mere il branch) s into t\\ o carious, 

 one Iraversid by the main stream of the Mcrcm, 



I feet, in a beautiful ca-cade, which, however-, is the other, or South Fork Canon, traversed 1>\ a 

 only visible during the early spring, the slrenm stream of minor sj/,.. \,-t wide h. at son, i- distance 1 

 completely disap]>e-aring during the elry season. In up the 1 rough and difficult di II. d)-o nels in a line 1 

 fact a visit in I! ami eif nu'lliui: fall eslimaleel al I'.IKI f, ,-t in heigot. wbieh has re'- 



MHIW- is ne ci-ssarv to s,.,. M uy of the- falls in the ir e-eiveel the se>ft souiieling name- of Illi|cnn-t Fall. 

 :ie>n. the- lar-. si of t|ie ; m losing much of its liown the main eafion l!e>s (he Mi reed l!i\er. its 



DMtttV ill the piM-ioel of elremghl. 



Aattort elislan.-.- al.ox. the I'.ridal \'< il Fall np- 



( ath.-dral l!oe-k. a nearly vcrlical eii 

 f.-e I hi'.'ii ; nnil just iH-yoml it le.we-r The- Spire', two 

 grace fill cfihinm e>t'granite which are in part isolate el 

 freun UK; valley walls, anil ri k e abeive 1 I be e ebje- of I In- 

 i-lilf like Ihe tawrn of ii (ie.lbie- callii>ilr)il. From 



wate-rs making their way from tbe 1 upper h'vel in 

 two irranel e-atarai-ts anel a ^e rn s ..f rain, 

 e-:ieb s u | lich are' a mon i: (In- mo.- 1 n I tractive ti atiire s 

 ol Ihe \alley si-e-iu-ry. Tin- lir-t fall rene he-el in as- 

 se-eiiding the' canein has bee-:i name-d \'ernal Fall. 

 Here- I be' w lie i|e she -a in. e.l pi'rba|is 1(K fe-e-l in id ill 

 ami of considerable ih-plh, pliinees vertically down 



one point nl' view they appear of ecaial height and ward about 400 feet in a cataract of great grandeur. 



