68 



YOSEMITE NATURE NOTES 



V JUNCTION WITH THE BIG OAK 

 - FLAT ROAD. The Big Oak Flat 



' Road which takes off here is des- 

 cribed under C-l, page 92. (Drive 

 straight ahead at next intersection) 



Y VALLEY VIEW. From Valley View 

 you see the "gates" of the valley, 



' formed by El Capitan and Cathed- 

 ral Rocks. In early summer the scene is 

 framed by fragrant blossoms of azalea, 

 the shrubs which line the river bank. 

 The trees of the forest in the valley are 

 principally two dominant evergreens, the 

 ponderosa pine and the incense-cedar, 

 with a scattering of white fir, Douglas- 

 fir and a few sugar pine. In the meadows 

 grow the California black oak (source of 

 food for the now departed Yosemite 

 Indians), black cottonwood and white 

 alder. The last two trees are common 

 along the streams together with the Pa- 

 cific dogwood. The rocky slopes at the 

 base of the cliffs are covered with the 

 evergreen live oaks, as well as a scattering 

 of bigleaf maples and California laurel. 

 Although the incense-cedar, because of 

 its red bark, is frequently mistaken for 



"redwood," no giant sequoias grow native 

 on the floor of the valley. A few young 

 sequoias, notably a tree near the entrance 

 of the Yosemite Museum, have been 

 transplanted. (For further information 

 on trees read "Broadleaved Trees of Yo- 

 semite" and "Cone-bearing Trees of Yo- 

 semite" available at the museum and gift 

 shops.) 



V EL CAPITAN MORAINE AND 

 _ JUNCTION OF OLD BIG OAK 

 ' FLAT ROAD. The low ridge in 

 the forest extending towards the river is 

 a glacial deposit or "moraine" formed 

 by the most recent ice-age glacier. As 

 the ice melted back this moraine made a 

 dam to help form Ancient Lake Yosemite 

 which was between one and two thous- 

 and feet deep at the upper end of the 

 valley and was 5 Yi miles long. The lake 

 gradually filled in with sediments to 

 form the present level valley floor. The 

 road on the other side of the highway 

 is a section of the Old Big Oak Flat Road, 

 now abandoned. 



Y EL CAPITAN. Read description 

 q under V-32, page 76. 



Features seen from Valley View 



