144 RESOURCES OP CALIFORNIA. 



the Merced River, more than a mile from the upper fall, which 

 from that distance looks like a ribbon of mist, and is entirely 

 inaudible. Yosemite Creek dries up some time between the 

 first of July and the last of August, according to the seasons. 



A little more than a mile eastward from the Yosemite Falls, 

 is a vertical wall of granite, half a mile long, and nearly 2,000 

 feet high, from which some scales of rock have fallen down, 

 leaving arches like eyebrows, several hundred yards long, pro- 

 jecting sixty or seventy feet beyond the surface of the wall 

 beneath. They are called the Royal Arches. 



Adjoining this wall on the east, and attached to it, is Wash- 

 ington Column, which, as seen from the westward, looks like 

 a half pillar. 



Half a mile eastward from the Washington Column, is 

 Mirror Lake, a shallow body of water, covering an area of 

 several hundred acres. It is remarkable on account of the 

 perfect smoothness of its surface, at certain times early in the 

 morning, for instance before the winds have commenced to 

 blow, and then the neighboring cliffs are reflected with won- 

 derful clearness and accuracy. This lake is an enlargement of 

 Teuaya Creek. 



The Half Dome, three-quarters of a mile southeastward 

 from Mirror Lake, is part of a dome which was cut through 

 vertically, and half of it carried away. The side next the val- 

 ley is perpendicular for 2,000 feet from the summit, which is 

 4,734 feet high. Professor Whitney claims for it, " the first 

 place among all the wonders of this region." 



Opposite to the Royal Arches, and two miles east of the 

 Sentinel Obelisk, the Little Yosemite Valley enters the main 

 valley. Its stream is the Merced River, which there flows 

 down through a rugged and narrow canon. On this stream, a 

 mile after leaving the main valley, we come to the Vernal 

 Fall, 400 feet high. The water in this tumble has a greenish 

 color, unlike the others, which are broken into white spray. 



A mile further on the same stream, is the Nevada Fall, 600 

 feet high. It is, in many respects, the handsomest and grand- 



