1/31/2024 0 Comments Half moon village yosemite![]() ![]() ![]() Yosemite is best known for its impressive granite cliffs and domes. A 2006 slide buried Highway 140 ft (43 m) in up to 300 ft (91 m) of debris, resulting in a closure that lasted several months and forced the creation of temporary bridges to route traffic to the other side of the Merced River. Another rockslide, with a volume equivalent to 200 dump truck loads, resulted in several Curry Village cabins being closed in 2008. A 1996 slide resulted in 162,000 tons of rock and debris descending to the valley floor near the Happy Isles trailhead, with an impact comparable to a magnitude 2.15 earthquake. Landslides also play a major role in the park. Signs showing the floodwater height are still posted throughout the Valley. Today numerous structures have been relocated, roads have been re-routed out of the flood plain, and nearly fifty percent of campsites have been removed. As a result the Valley was closed for over three months, and vast changes were made to the area's management plan. The Merced River rose nearly ten feet above its normal level, producing over $178 million in damage in Yosemite Valley. In January 1997 warm winter temperatures, a late-season tropical rainstorm, and a heavy snow pack combined to produce the greatest flooding on record. Natural forces often wreak havoc on the infrastructure in and around Yosemite. Today, efforts to remove the dam and restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley continue. In 1913, with the passage by Congress of the Raker Act, permission was granted to San Francisco to build the O'Shaughnessy Dam, allowing the Tuolumne River to flood the valley. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake that city began looking to Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley as a source of drinking water and hydroelectric power, and a bitter political struggle ensued between environmentalists and the city. However, as Mackinac River National Park in Michigan became a state park, Yosemite is the second oldest that still holds the "national park" title today.ĭespite its national park status, California controlled the initial grant area until 1906. Following further lobbying by the conservationist John Muir, additional restrictions were put in place against grazing in the subalpine meadows surrounding Yosemite Valley, and on Octothe area was declared America's third national park. This was the first time in history that the US federal government had set aside scenic lands for the purpose of preservation and public use. After prominent individuals advocated for its protection, on JPresident Abraham Lincoln signed a bill granting Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias to the State of California as an inalienable public trust. The beauty of Yosemite Valley inspired early visitors to the area and led to concern about exploitation by commercial interests. By the 1930s the population of Native Americans had dwindled to the point that the last Indian village was disbanded, and by 1969 the last private Indian residences were abandoned. ![]() In 1849 the lives of the native Miwok population changed dramatically as the California Gold Rush brought thousands of miners into the region, resulting in a massive disruption to the way of life practiced by the existing people. Humans may have first visited Yosemite as long as 8,000 years ago, and there is evidence that people have lived in the area for nearly 4,000 years. Approximately four million visitors each year come to Yosemite to marvel at its spectacular granite cliffs, towering waterfalls, remote wilderness, massive sequoia trees, and high mountain meadows. Yosemite National Park is a United States national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Sierra Nevada mountains in east-central California. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |