Yosemite Valley

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Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View seen from

The Yosemite Valley is the central valley of Yosemite National Park in California . Although it only represents about one percent of the total area of ​​the park, most tourist activities take place here, the rest of the park is far less accessible by roads. From the west there is a road from San Francisco , to the east there is a road to Mono Lake, and to the south there is a road to Fresno . There is no arterial road to the north. The largest area of ​​the park is only accessible by hiking trails.

location

Map of the Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley: Upper Yosemite Fall
Yosemite Valley: El Capitan, a monolith
Yosemite Valley: Half Dome, highest mountain
Panoramic view from Glacier Point over the Yosemite Valley
Model of the Yosemite Valley and the original valley behind it

The valley is located in the western part of Yosemite Park in the Sierra Nevada in Northern California , about 300 km east of San Francisco , about 420 km northeast of Los Angeles and about 750 km west of Las Vegas . Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley with a length of approximately 13 km. Some of the surrounding rocks rise more than 1.5 km above the valley floor.

geology

The mountains consist of plutonic granites that were formed in the Cretaceous Period . The oldest rocks are a good 100 million years old, the youngest around 90 million years old. The valley was shaped over the last 30 million years during several ice ages, the glaciers of which carved the valley. Except for Half Dome and the summit of El Capitan, all formations in the area were repeatedly covered by ice. After some of these ice ages, a lake formed in the valley in which sediments were deposited. After the last glaciation, which was relatively minor, the terminal moraine that dammed the lake was at the foot of El Capitan. This lake silted up due to sediments and thus formed today's relatively flat valley floor. Near the Glacier Point there are up to 600 m thick sediment deposits, which were created by at least six lake formations.

Flora and fauna

The fauna and flora of the Yosemite Valley is very species-rich, in the valley floor alone over 400 different species of grasses and wildflowers have been identified. Several thousand species of insects have been observed and other animals and plants are also found in large numbers. The valley area is classified as a dry coniferous forest .

The Yosemite Valley is affected by the effects of climate change . In just a few years, beetle destruction has transformed parts of the valley from a dense pine forest to a more open oak landscape. The Ferguson fire completely burned 96,000 acres around the area previously inhabited by communities. The good climbing season has been postponed by at least a month and snow rarely covers the valley floor.

history

Indians of various tribes have lived in the area of ​​the valley for about 7,000 to 10,000 years , mainly a Miwok tribe who called themselves Ahwahneechee.

The first non-Indians to reach Yosemite Valley were likely members of Joseph Walker's Track in 1833, the first to cross the Sierra Nevada from east to west. However, the valley and the area were only described in literary terms a few years later.

The Yosemite National Park with the Yosemite Valley is one of the oldest nature reserves in the USA. In June 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed an ordinance protecting the valley and park.

tourism

The valley is the main attraction of the park and is visited by about 3.75 million people annually. About 75% of all visitors come in the summer months from May to September, on July 21, 2011 there was a record with almost 21,000 visitors, during this time a visit with your own car is not advisable because the parking space situation is very tense. Efforts are being made to limit individual traffic and to transport visitors to the park and the valley by shuttle buses. An upper limit for the number of visitors was also discussed.

The main entrance, through which most visitors enter the park, is on the west side of the park on the road coming from San Francisco. You can then reach the valley via the Tunnel View, from where you have a magnificent overview of the main attractions of the valley. This point was u. a. known through photos by Ansel Adams , who photographed the valley several times from here.

Many of the scenic attractions of Yosemite Park can be seen in the valley; of Half Dome , El Capitan , the Yosemite Falls , the Snow Creek Falls , Cathedral Rock and more. Most of the overnight accommodations are also available here and most of the backcountry hiking tours such as the John Muir Trail start in the valley.

The Merced River flows through the valley, which is designated as a National Wild and Scenic River in the area of ​​the national park and is to be renatured in large parts in the near future. The valley is a California Historical Landmark and also a Historic district in the United States .

Sports

The Yosemite Valley is a center of rock climbing and is also very popular with hikers. The valley is the starting point for many hiking tours, from a few kilometers in length such as the Four Mile Trail to several hundred kilometers such as the John Muir Trail with a length of around 340 km. Water sports and mountain biking can also be practiced, and fishing is permitted in some designated areas. In order to cope with the onslaught of hikers and climbers, especially for Half Dome, only a limited number of permits are given out per day, which are raffled off in a lottery.

Web links

Commons : Yosemite Valley  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Allan A. Schoenherr: A Natural History of California (= California natural history guides. Vol. 56). UC Press, Berkeley, CA 1995, ISBN 0-520-06922-6 .
  2. ↑ Tommy Caldwell, climate change and Yosemite valley. Planet Mountain, December 10, 2018, accessed February 10, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Yosemite National Park Information Page ( June 5, 2009 memento in the Internet Archive ). In: yosemite.national-park.com, accessed November 6, 2016.
  4. ^ Yosemite National Park. In: yosemite.national-park.com. October 24, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  5. ↑ George Wuerthner: Yosemite: A Visitors Companion. Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA 1994, ISBN 0-8117-2598-7 ; Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation 2006, OCLC 943311466 .
  6. ↑ Jeffrey P. Schaffer: Yosemite National Park: A Natural History Guide to Yosemite and Its Trails. 4th ed. Wilderness Press, Berkeley, CA 1999, ISBN 0-89997-244-6 .
  7. ^ Homepage of the National Park Service about Yosemite. In: nps.gov, accessed November 6, 2016.
  8. ↑ Stefan Kremer: Will you need permits for the Yosemite Valley soon? In: usa-reporter.com. March 26, 2012, accessed November 6, 2016.
  9. ↑ Ansel Adams: Clearing Winter Storm. In: yimg.com, accessed November 6, 2016 (sample photo ).
  10. ^ Yosemite Valley Historical Landmark. In: parks.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2016.
  11. ↑ Half Dome: Your guide to Yosemite's most demanding day hike. In: yosemitehikes.com, accessed November 6, 2016.

Coordinates: 37 ° 43 ′ 18 "  N , 119 ° 38 ′ 47"  W.