204 Adventures in Scenery 



brush-covered summits south of the Cathedral Rocks remnants 

 of moraines occur at altitudes ranging 200 feet higher. The 

 earlier Yosemite Glacier passed over the summit of the Cathe- 

 dral Rocks with a depth of not less than 300 feet. 



Moraines of the earlier glaciation in the lower part of the 

 Merced Valley are of particular interest. The highest moraine 

 on the south side of the valley is crossed by the Pohono Trail at 

 an altitude of 2,400 feet above the floor of the valley. The 

 second highest moraine is so well preserved for a stretch of a 

 quarter of a mile that it constitutes one of the notable land- 

 marks of glacial origin in the lower Yosemite region. On the 

 slopes west of Cascade Creek moraines of the earlier Yosemite 

 Glacier are well preserved, the highest extending almost un- 

 broken for a distance of 2 1 /2 miles. A series of moraines, some 

 of which are more massive than any other moraines in the 

 Yosemite region, occur on the northwest border of Big Meadow 

 Flat. 



The farthest point reached by the earlier Yosemite Glacier, 

 in the vicinity of El Portal, is not marked by any terminal 

 moraine. The height at which the last patches of morainal 

 material lie above the floor of the canyon between 1,200 and 

 1,300 feet show that the ice extended some distance, perhaps 

 a mile, below El Portal (west). Along the lower Merced 

 Canyon, below El Portal, occur masses of boulders and coarse 

 gravel on both sides of the canyon that evidently are remnants 

 of the outwash from the glacier. This outwash material is con- 

 spicuous in many cuts along the automobile highway, and also 

 in some places along the railroad. It shows that a "valley train" 

 of glacial wash extended down the canyon a distance of about 

 30 miles. 



Boulders Indicate Existence of an 

 Earlier Glacier 



In several localities in the Yosemite region glacier-borne 

 boulders occur singly, in groups, or in rows, without any accom- 



