What is the significance of yosemite national park

The park is best known for its waterfalls, but you can also find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more. They came because of the California Gold Rush. As a consequence, conservationists appealed to President Abraham Lincoln to make Yosemite Valley a public trust of California. It is by far the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter.

John Muir was a Scottish naturalist, writer, and conservationist who was instrumental in the creation of Yosemite National Park. He first visited Yosemite in While Muir guided his flock of sheep to the Tuolumne Meadows in the High Sierra, he studied the flora and fauna and sketched the mountain scenery. He later wrote about these experiences in My First Summer in the Sierra.

Muir became a political activist and founded the Sierra Club in With his army of dedicated followers, he gained support in Congress for the creation of Yosemite and other national parks. Before John Muir sang the praises of this incredible land, Greeley did. I know no single wonder of nature on earth which can claim superiority over the Yosemite.

Just dream yourself for one hour in a chasm nearly ten miles long, with egress, save for birds and water, but at three points, up the face of precipices from three thousand to four thousand feet high, the chasm scarcely more than a mile wide at any point, and tapering to a mere gorge, or canyon, at either end, with walls of mainly naked and perpendicular white granite, from three thousand to five thousand feet high, so that looking up to the sky from it is like looking out of an unfathomable profound—and you will have some conception of the Yosemite.

After being urged by conservationists to take action, Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Land Grant on June 30, This action extended protection to the Mariposa Grove and Yosemite Valley. Every blade of grass is a study; and to produce two, where there was but one, is both a profit and a pleasure.

This was the first time the federal government acted to protect land because of its natural beauty. It established an important precedent that the government could do this. Future presidents, beginning with Ulysses S.

Grant signed legislation creating Yellowstone National Park. Yosemite National Park is perhaps best known for its giant sequoia trees which are believed to be approximately 3, years old.

These magnificent trees can grow to be about 30 feet wide and more than feet tall. The park features approximately mature giant sequoias in Mariposa Grove.

You can also find sequoias in the Tuolumne and Merced Groves near Crane Flat, but you will need to do some hiking to see them. Approximately one million years ago, glaciers reached a thickness of 4, feet. These glaciers were formed at high elevations. From there, they began to move down the river valleys. It was the downwards movement of these large pieces of ice cut which formed the U-shaped Yosemite Valley. Lyell Glacier was climbed by John Muir in It is on the north facing slopes of Mount Lyell, the highest peak in the national park at 13, feet.

Lyell is the second largest glacier in the Sierra Nevada and the largest in Yosemite. Maclure is the second largest glacier in the Yosemite. It has an ice cave that allows hikers to actually look underneath the glacier. If you enjoy watching wildlife then Yosemite is definitely worth a visit. The park supports more than species including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Although the park is open all year, nearly 75 percent of visitors come to the park May through October , and most of them never leave the 6-square miles that is Yosemite Valley. Yosemite is the only national park to bid to host the winter Olympics. In the early days of Yosemite, visitors flocked to the park as a summer resort but most stayed away during winter.

In the end, Lake Placid won the bid for the winter Olympics, but winter sports at Yosemite still live on today. Since the s, climbers have been drawn to the Yosemite and its soaring rock formations. Yosemite is one of the few places in the U. Yosemite is world-famous for its waterfalls and the rainbows that can appear in them.

This dramatic natural event -- called frazil ice -- occurs most commonly in the spring when there is high water flow over the falls and overnight temperatures are below freezing. The mist from the falls freezes, and it flows down the creek like a giant slurpee, surging into a snowy mass with icy water underneath. Yosemite's El Capitan glows at sunset. Yosemite National Park experiences a Mediterranean climate, meaning that it is mild, warm, and temperate.

In the winter months, rainfall in Yosemite Valley reaches a peak; the average precipitation in January, for example, is 7 inches. Summer is generally very sunny and dry, with the average precipitation in August being only 0. Approximately one million years ago, glaciers reached a thickness of 4, feet. These glaciers were formed at high elevations and began to move down the river valleys.

The downwards movement of these large pieces of ice cut the U-shaped Yosemite Valley. The interaction of the glaciers and the underlying granitic rocks are what created the unique landforms in the park. These include jagged peaks, rounded domes, lakes, waterfalls, moraines, and granite spires. Additionally, about 10 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada was uplifted and then tilted, which resulted in the formation of the gentle western slope and the more dramatic eastern slopes.

The uplift also caused the riverbeds to become steeper, which formed deep, narrow canyons. Yosemite is home to a countless number of magnificent waterfalls. The best time of the year to see these waterfalls is in spring May and June as this is when the snowmelt is at its peak.

The waterfalls tend to run dry by August but are refreshed in fall by an increase in rainfall. Yosemite Falls is one of the tallest waterfalls in North America, reaching 2, feet. President Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir took a camping trip in the park in At the end of the camping trip, Roosevelt signed a law that brought the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove under the jurisdiction of the federal government, thus expanding the national park.

Hiking is one of the best ways to see Yosemite National Park, and there are hikes that are suitable for all levels of hikers. Yosemite Valley is open all year for hiking, and trails within the valley are usually very busy. One of the most popular hikes is the Half Dome Hike , which is best suited to the more adventurous hiker. It is a hour, mile roundtrip hike with huge elevation gain, cables, and exposed terrain. The Yosemite Falls Trail is another famous hike as it takes visitors to a spectacular lookout, where they can view the falls from above.

It is approximately 7. Mirror Lake Trail is also frequently visited by park users as it is one of the easier hikes in the park.

Mirror Lake is a great place to view the face of the Half Dome. At sunset, the rock formations of El Capitan and Half Dome look as if they are on fire.