330 



Sierra Club Bulletin. 



BOOK REVIEWS. 



Edited by William Frederic Bai)±. 



ti 



Hetch-Hetchy Valley 

 AND the Tuolumne 

 Canon." 



A very readable article on the "Hetch- 

 Hetchy Valley and the Tuolumne 

 Canon," by Dr. Wm. Frederic Bade, 

 appeared in the May 14, 1908, issue of 



The Independent, published in New York City. A few quotations 

 will not be out of place : — 



•'The appHcation of the city of San Francisco to the Depart- 

 ment of the Interior for permission to use Hetch-Hetchy Valley 

 as a reservoir site raises issues of considerable consequence. 

 Since this valley is part of the Yosemite National Park it becomes 

 necessary to determine upon what ground the claims or needs 

 of a municipahty may prevene those of the nation. Engineers 

 conversant with the situation do not regard the Tuolumne as the 

 city's only adequate source of supply. The promoters of the 

 project emphasize the convenience of the site. On the other 

 hand, Hetch-Hetchy Valley is one of the chief scenic assets of 

 the National Park. Many competent judges, among them John 

 Muir, rank its scenic importance scarcely second to Yosemite 

 Valley itself. The gray granite walls rise, in what are mostly 

 sheer precipices, to heights varying from 1,700 to 2,300 feet. On 

 the northern wall hangs the long silver scarf of Tueeulala — a 

 thousand feet of white water dashed into whiter spray upon an 

 earthquake talus. A little to the eastward the greater fall, 

 Wapama, with thunderous roar, plunges into the valley from a 

 height of 1,700 feet. No one who has seen Hetch-Hetchy with 

 its ancient groves of oak and pine, its wonderful waterfalls, its 

 meadows riotous with bloom and deeply set in granite frames, 

 can feel happy over a project that would turn this valley into a 

 lake bottom." 



The writer then describes his trip down the Tuolumne Caiion, 

 "that deserves to be counted among the greatest natural won- 

 ders on earth," and concludes with this beautiful word-picture : — 



"The evening light was weaving strange tapestries over the 

 western mountain walls as we passed through the portals of 

 Hetch-Hetchy, next to Yosemite the greatest natural cathedral 

 on the Pacific Coast. From richly carved choir galleries came 

 the joyous music of many waters, and the deep organ tones of 

 full-throated waterfalls pealed forth ever and anon as we 

 threaded its aisles on subsequent days. One would suppose that 

 its own sublime beauty were argument sufficient for the preserva- 

 tion of the valley. But still more cogent reasons for its preserva- 

 tion are found in the fact that it is the natural entrance or exit 

 of the Tuolumne Canon. The time is not far distant when the 

 Government will wish to build a trail through the wonderland of 

 this gorge in order that thousands may look upon and enjoy what 



