Category Archives: National Parks

Bench View from Shenandoah National Park

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Shenandoah National Park extends along the Blue Ridge Mountains in the U.S. state of Virginia. The Skyline Drive runs its length, and a vast network of trails includes a section of the long-distance Appalachian Trail. Mostly forested, the park features wetlands, waterfalls and rocky peaks. Shenandoah is home to many bird species, plus deer, squirrels and the elusive black bear.

Bench View from Shenandoah National Park

The Half Face of a Mountain

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At the head of the valley in Yosemite National Park, as if on a pedestal, stands Half Dome, the most colossal and recognizable rock monument in the Sierra Nevada, smoothly rounded on three sides and a sheer vertical face on the fourth. Half Dome, which stands nearly 8,800 feet above sea level, is composed of quartz monzonite, an igneous rock that solidified several thousand feet within the Earth. Half Dome, is the remains of a magma chamber that cooled slowly and crystallized beneath the Earth’s surface. The solidified magma chamber was then exposed and cut in half by erosion, therefore leading to the geographic name Half Dome.

The Half Face of a Mountain

A Closeup of Half Dome

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One of the most recognized natural rocks in the world, Half Dome in Yosemite National Park is even more impressive up close when viewed from Glacier Point.

Half Dome may now be ascended in several different ways. Thousands of hikers reach the top each year by following an 8.5 mi (13.7 km) trail from the valley floor. After a rigorous 2 mi (3.2 km) approach, including several hundred feet of granite stairs, the final pitch up the peak’s steep but somewhat rounded east face is ascended with the aid of a pair of post-mounted braided steel cables.

A Closeup of Half Dome

Eye Level View of Half Dome

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Half Dome is a granite dome at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, California. 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 (1,444 m) above the valley floor and stands nearly 8,800 feet above sea level

Half Dome as viewed from Glacier Point (approximately 7,200 feet height).

Eye Level View of Half Dome

A Chapel in Yosemite

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Of the structures in public use in Yosemite National Park, the Yosemite Valley Chapel is now the oldest. This little New England style church was built under the sponsorship of the California State Sunday School Association, partly by subscriptions from the children, but mainly from the voluntary contributions of prominent members of the Association.

Although the Chapel continues today primarily as a house of worship, over the years it has become a popular wedding destination due to the spectacular setting and the quaint beauty of the building. The first Chapel wedding took place on October 24, 1884.

A Chapel in Yosemite

Yosemite Falls in Three Layers

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The Yosemite Falls  consist of three sections:

  • Upper Yosemite Fall: The 1,430-foot (440 m) plunge alone is among the twenty highest waterfalls in the world. The upper fall is formed by the swift waters of Yosemite Creek, which, after meandering through Eagle Creek Meadow, hurl themselves over the edge of a hanging valley in a spectacular and deafening show of force.
  • Middle Cascades: Between the two obvious main plunges there are a series of five smaller plunges collectively referred to as the Middle Cascades. Most viewpoints in the valley miss them entirely.
  • Lower Yosemite Fall: The final 320-foot (98 m) drop adjacent to an accessible viewing area, provides the most-used viewing point for the waterfalls. Yosemite Creek emerges from the base of the Lower Fall and flows into the Merced River nearby.

Yosemite Falls Layers

Bridalveil Fall Beliefs

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The Ahwahneechee tribe believed that Bridalveil Fall (Yosemite National Park) was home to a vengeful spirit named Pohono who guarded the entrance to the valley and that those leaving the valley must not look directly into the waterfall lest they be cursed. They also believed that inhaling the mist of Bridalveil Fall would improve one’s chances of marriage.

Bridalveil Fall Yosemite

Bridalveil Close Up