108 



YOSEMITE NATURE NOTES 



INTERESTING POINTS BETWEEN FRESNO AND YOSEMITE NATIONAL 



PARK 



(Total driving distance to park boundary 61.2 miles) 



CITY OF FRESNO— This city, the 

 Fresno County seat, with a population 

 of 108,000, because of its central loca- 

 tion has become the principal wholesale 

 and retail distribution point in the San 

 Joaquin Valley. Today it is hard to be- 

 lieve that in 1872 a subsidiary of the 

 Central Pacific Railroad which staked 

 out the town in the heart of the San 

 Joaquin desert could find no buyers for 

 its "choice" lots. In this desolation 

 where there was no railroad, town, 

 water, or settlement, the company per- 

 mitted any newcomers to settle on the 

 lots provided they would purchase them 

 should they decide to remain. Land val- 

 ues unexpectedly increased. In July 1874 

 when the railroad reached this point 

 there were 29 business and 2 5 private 

 dwellings. The coming of the railroad 

 encouraged people to move down from 

 the foothills and the county seat, to- 

 gether with the entire population and 

 many of its buildings, moved from Mil- 

 lerton that year. Fresno means "ash tree" 

 in Spanish. In 1806 Lt. Moraga named a 

 "rivulet from the Sierra" San Joaquin in 

 respect to the parent of Mary, the 

 mother of Christ, and subsequently the 

 name became associated with the south- 

 ern central valley of California. 



COUNTY OF FRESNO— Fresno 

 County was formed in 18 56 out of the 

 then huge Mariposa County with Mil- 

 lerton on the San Joaquin River the first 

 county seat from 185 6 to 1874. Fresno 

 County embraces 3,83 0,400 acres and 

 has an average farm production of about 

 $3 50,000,000 annually as of 1954. Prin- 

 cipal crops of the county are dairy 

 products, livestock, poultry, turkeys, 

 cotton, raisins and grapes, figs, paeches, 

 alfalfa and grain. 



(From Hotel Calif ornian 

 approx. 8 miles) 



FRIANT DAM AND MILLERTON 

 LAKE — The road branching off from 

 Highway 41 at Pinedale leads to Friant 

 Dam on the San Joaquin River. Miller- 

 ton Lake, formed behind this dam, re- 

 ceived its name from the town of Mil- 

 lerton which, along with the site of old 

 Fort Miller (1851-1863), was inun- 

 dated with the formation of the reser- 

 voir. About one-half of Friant Dam 

 and Millerton Lake lies each in Fresno 

 and Madera Counties. Millerton Lake, a 

 local water sports area, is administered 

 by the National Park Service as a Na- 

 tional Recreation Area. 



(2.3 miles) 



MADERA COUNTY — The second 

 youngest county in the State of Califor- 

 nia, Madera County was formed from a 

 portion of Fresno County in 1893. Its 

 name is from the town of Madera, the 

 county seat, a Spanish word meaning 

 "lumber," adopted because of the thriv- 

 ing lumber industry there. Madera was 

 the western terminus of the lumber 

 flume which stretched some 6 5 miles 

 from the Sierra (described under Old 

 Lumbering Operations below). Madera 

 County is divided about equally in 

 plains, foothills and high mountain 

 country, the latter including a part of 

 Yosemite National Park and all of the 

 Devils Postpile National Monument on 

 the east of the range. Its crops are much 

 the same as those of Fresno County with 

 dairying, vineyarding and poultry rais- 

 ing the largest industries. Recreation is 

 an important industry in the mountains. 



(7.3 miles) 



MADERA CANAL— This canal is a 

 part of the huge Central Valley irriga- 



