20 February 2022
On the Southern California Beaches page photo #5481 was added to the Wayfarers Chapel section. Also the Cabrillo Beach section was added in its entirety.
5 July 2021
Added picture #5143 to the Misc. Other Pictures page.
5 July 2021
Added picture #5143 to the Misc. Other Pictures page.
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a national park in California. It is bordered on the southeast by the Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers 1,187 sq. mi. in four counties – centered in Tuolumne and Mariposa, extending north and east to Mono and south to Madera. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, groves of giant sequoia, lakes, mountains, meadows, glaciers, and biological diversity. Almost 95 percent of the park is designated wilderness. Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.Its geology is characterized by granite and remnants of older rock. About 10 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada was uplifted and tilted to form its unique slopes, which increased the steepness of stream and river beds, forming deep, narrow canyons. About one million years ago, glaciers formed at higher elevations. They moved downslope, cutting and sculpting the U-shaped Yosemite Valley.Humans may have first entered the area 10,000 to 8,000 years ago, with Native Americans having inhabited the region for nearly 4,000 years. European Americans entered the area by 1833. The best documented first entrance of European Americans into Yosemite Valley occurred when the Mariposa Battalion, commissioned by Governor McDougal and led by James D. Savage, attacked the Ahwahneechee there in 1851.Yosemite was critical to the development of the concept of national parks. Galen Clark and others lobbied to protect Yosemite Valley from development, ultimately leading to President Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Yosemite Grant of 1864 that declared Yosemite as federally preserved land. In 1890, environmentalist John Muir led a successful movement to motivate Congress to establish Yosemite Valley and its surrounding areas as a National Park. This helped pave the way for the National Park System. Yosemite draws about four million visitors annually. Most visitors spend the majority of their time in the valley's seven square miles. The park set a visitation record in 2016, surpassing five million visitors for the first time. In 2024, the park received over four million visitors.
This picture was taken at Glacier Point. Glacier Point is a viewpoint above Yosemite Valley. It is located on the south wall of Yosemite Valley at an elevation of 7,214 feet, 3,200 feet above Half Dome Village. The point offers a superb view of several of Yosemite's well-known landmarks, including Yosemite Valley, Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, Vernal Falls, Nevada Falls, and Clouds Rest. Between 1872 and 1968, it was the site of the Yosemite Firefall. .
Picture Number: CM1_0021
Date: June 2017
Camera: Nikon D7100
ISO: 200 Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
F-Stop: f/5.6 Lens: 18 mm
This picture is of Upper Yosemite Falls. Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in Yosemite National Park, dropping a total of 2,425 feet from the top of the upper fall to the base of the lower fall. The Upper Yosemite Fall’s 1,430-foot plunge comprises over half the total drop.
Picture Number: CM1_0116
Date: June 2017
Camera: Nikon D7100
ISO: 200 Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
F-Stop: f/5.6 Lens: 45 mm
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This Picture was taken at Tunnel View. Tunnel View is a scenic viewpoint located on California State Route 41 in Yosemite National Park, United States. Since its opening in 1933, it has offered visitors iconic, expansive views of Yosemite Valley, making it one of the park's most renowned viewpoints. The large viewpoint area is located directly east of the Wawona Tunnel portal, as one enters Yosemite Valley from points south. The view looks eastward into Yosemite Valley, and includes surrounding features, such as the southwest face of El Capitan on the left, Half Dome on axis, and Bridalveil Fall on the right. Foror many arriving by road, this is the first view, upon suddenly exiting the tunnel, of Yosemite Valley and its setting. The trailhead, for the hiking trail up and south to Inspiration Point, is located here.
Picture Number: CM1_0067
Date: June 2017
Camera: Nikon D7100
ISO: 200 Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
F-Stop: f/5.6 Lens: 32 mm
This is a picture of Bridalveil Falls. Bridalveil Falls is one of the most prominent waterfalls in the Yosemite Valley in California. The waterfall is 617 ft in height and flows year round. The glaciers that carved Yosemite Valley left many hanging valleys that spawned the waterfalls that pour into the valley. Most of the waterways that fed these falls carved the hanging valleys into steep cascades, but Bridalveil Creek still leaps into the valley from the edge of the precipice, although that edge has moved back into an alcove from the original edge of the valley. While Yosemite Falls seem to also fall into this category, the original course took the Yosemite Creek down a gorge to the west of its current location. The primary source of Bridalveil Fall is Ostrander Lake, some 9.9 miles to the south. In a brisk wind, the falling water is often blown sideways, and when the flow is light, it may not reach the ground directly below.
Picture Number: CM1_0082
Date: June 2017
Camera: Nikon D7100
ISO: 400 Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
F-Stop: f/5.6 Lens: 18 mm
This is a picture is of Half Dome from the Merced Canyon Overlook on State Highway 120 (Big Oak Flat Road). Half Dome is a granite dome at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park. It is a well-known rock formation in the park, named for its distinct shape. One side is a sheer face while the other three sides are smooth and round, making it appear like a dome cut in half. The granite crest rises more than 4,737 ft above the valley floor. As late as the 1870’s, Half Dome was described as "perfectly inaccessible" by Josiah Whitney of the California Geological Survey. The summit was finally reached by George G. Anderson in October 1875, via a route constructed by drilling and placing iron eyebolts into the smooth granite. Today, Half Dome may be ascended in several different ways. Thousands of hikers reach the top each year by following an 8.5 mi trail from the valley floor.
Picture Number: DSC_0028
Date: June 2014
Camera: Nikon D80
ISO: 200 Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec
F-Stop: f/5.6 Lens: 135 mm
This picture is of a team of climbers ascending El Capitan. Even at this high magnification it is difficult to see them. (Look for the large crack in the middle of the picture. It is generally easier to see their shadow then actually see them. The bottom climber is the easiest one to see as he is dressed in green.) For many years it was believed that climbing the mountains’ vertical walls was impossible. In 1957, however, Warren Harding led an expedition to scale the peak. The group focused on the prow that formed where the southeastern and southwestern faces meet; it became known as the Nose. For 45 days over more than one year, they established a route by inserting pitons and drilling bolt holes for the fixed ropes. On November 12, 1958, Harding and two others finally summited the mountain. Since then El Capitan has become popular with climbers, and in 2017 Alex Honnold became the first to ascend the mountain without using ropes.
Picture Number: CM1_0023
Date: June 2017
Camera: Nikon D7100
ISO: 560 Shutter Speed: 1/1000 sec
F-Stop: f/5.6 Lens: 140 mm
El Capitan, also known as El Cap, is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. El Capitan is composed almost entirely of a pale, coarse-grained granite emplaced approximately 100 million years ago. In addition to El Capitan, this granite forms most of the rock features of the western portions of Yosemite Valley. A separate intrusion of igneous rock, the Taft Granite, forms the uppermost portions of the cliff face. A third igneous rock, diorite, is present as dark-veined intrusions through both kinds of granite, especially prominent in the area known as the North America Wall. El Capitan’s iconic granite walls dominate the west end of Yosemite Valley. At more than 3,000 feet above the valley floor, it is 2.5 times as tall as the Empire State Building, or more than 3 times as high as the tip of the Eiffel Tower.
Picture Number: CM1_0068
Date: June 2017
Camera: Nikon D7100
ISO: 200 Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
F-Stop: f/5.6 Lens: 24 mm
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Picture Number: CM1_0065
Date: June 2017
Camera: Nikon D7100
ISO: 220 Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
F-Stop: f/5.6 Lens: 20 mm
This picture was taken at the viewpoint for Staircase Falls. Staircase Falls is one of two named ephemeral waterfalls within Yosemite Valley. The falls occur along the very fittingly named Gossamer Creek as it cascades down from Glacier Point. Gossamer Creek's natural course into Yosemite Valley was via a large joint in the bedrock which forms a gully that runs from the Glacier Point parking area clear to the valley floor at about a 45-degree angle. However, at about the 5800-foot level, the creek has been diverted northeast from its otherwise northwesterly course - most likely by a rockfall - at which point it intersects the bedrock forming the cliffs above Camp Curry and cascades about 1,300 feet to the valley floor. Perhaps the most eye-catching characteristic of this drop is that due to the jointing in the cliffs, the falls actually shift to the east as they fall. This creates the striking stair-stepping which gives the falls its name, but at the same time the falls are technically continuous because below each step the creek continues sliding downward rather than pausing in a pool.
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Picture Number: CM1_0099
Date: June 2017
Camera: Nikon D7100
ISO: 200 Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
F-Stop: f/5.6 Lens: 60 mm
These pictures of the Merced River were taken along El Porto Road (SR 140). From its source on the south side of Mount Lyell at 13,114 feet, through a glacially carved canyon within Yosemite National Park, the river flows downstream to Lake McClure Reservoir. The Merced River drops over Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls, together known as the "Giant Staircase", then receives Illilouette Creek and flows into Yosemite Valley, where it meanders between pine forests and meadows that fill the valley floor. Tenaya, Yosemite, Bridalveil and Pigeon Creeks join the Merced River in Yosemite Valley. The South Fork possesses one of the few remaining pristine Sierra Nevada fisheries with self-sustaining populations of rainbow, eastern brook and brown trout.
Picture Number: CM1_0034
Date: June 2017
Camera: Nikon D7100
ISO: 200 Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec
F-Stop: f/10 Lens: 30 mm
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Picture Number: CM1_0033
Date: June 2017
Camera: Nikon D7100
ISO: 200 Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec
F-Stop: f/10 Lens: 18 mm
This picture of Yosemite Valley was taken at the Tunnel View viewpoint. I chose to print this in Black and White (rather than color) because the view from this location is very similar to one of Ansel Adams’ prints, and I wanted to try and duplicate that picture. The Tunnel View scenic overlook (constructed in 1933) is a historic site, located adjacent to Wawona Road/Highway 41. Visitors have seen and documented the iconic and expansive views of Yosemite Valley from the overlook since its opening in 1933. Internationally renowned artists to casual tourists have painted, drawn, and photographed the dramatic scenery from here and nearby vantage points since the 19th century. The large viewpoint area is located directly east of the Wawona Tunnel portal, as one enters Yosemite Valley from points south. The view looks eastward into Yosemite Valley, and includes surrounding features, such as the southwest face of El Capitan on the left, Half Dome on axis, and Bridalveil Fall on the right.
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Picture Number: CM1_0039
Date: June 2017
Camera: Nikon D7100
ISO: 110 Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
F-Stop: f/8 Lens: 40 mm
This is a picture of the Yosemite Sugar Pine Mountain RR’s engine #10 as it was being prepared for its next trip. No. 10 is a 3 ft narrow gauge three-truck Shay steam locomotive constructed for the Pickering Lumber Company. The locomotive was completed on March 2, 1928 by the Lima Locomotive Works of Lima, Ohio and later acquired by the West Side Lumber Company in 1934. No. 10 burns oil, with a capacity to hold 1,200 gallons of oil and 3,420 gal of water. This locomotive is reputedly the largest narrow-gauge Shay locomotive ever constructed. The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad is a historic 3 ft narrow gauge railroad with two operating steam train locomotives located near Fish Camp, California, in the Sierra National Forest near the southern entrance to Yosemite National Park. The current railroad follows a portion of grade originally carved into the mountain by the Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company in the early 20th century. The company originated in 1874, when it was organized as the California Lumber Company to log the area surrounding Oakhurst, CA. The Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company once had a large sawmill at Sugar Pine, CA, just south of the current YMSPRR.
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Picture Number: CM1_0115
Date: June 2017
Camera: Nikon D7100
ISO: 250 Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
F-Stop: f/5.6 Lens: 88 mm