Yosemite Valley
Half Dome's home
Yosemite Valley is a glacially carved valley in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, located within Yosemite National Park.
The valley is renowned for its dramatic granite cliffs, including El Capitan and Half Dome, as well as its waterfalls, meadows, and giant sequoia groves.
Spanning roughly seven miles long and about a mile wide, it draws millions of visitors annually and holds iconic status in American conservation history and outdoor recreation.
- conservationPreventing waste or loss
- Sierra ClubEnvironmental advocacy organization
- National Park ServiceU.S. conservation agency
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
Ansel Adams · photography · environmentalism · indigenous · naturalist · Theodore Roosevelt
Yosemite granite formation
- Half DomeBisected-looking granite dome
- free-soloClimb without safety equipment
- multi-pitchClimb with sequential rope-lengths
- belayAnchor a rope
rappel · pitch · anchor · top-rope · bouldering · crux · overhang · chimney
Large underground igneous mass
- exfoliationShedding surface skin cells
- domeRounded vault forming roof
- monolithHuge solitary standing stone
- talusAnkle's main bone
erratic · polish · plutonic · intrusive · feldspar · quartz · biotite · crystalline
Sparsely populated wilderness areas
- pristinePure and untouched
- black bearDark-furred North American ursine
- mule deerLarge-eared western cervid
- coyoteWild North American canid
bobcat · peregrine falcon · sequoia · manzanita · meadow · ecosystem · biodiversity · habitat
John Muir
- conservationPreventing waste or loss
- Sierra ClubEnvironmental advocacy organization
- National Park ServiceU.S. conservation agency
Ansel Adams · preservation · photography · environmentalism · indigenous · naturalist · Theodore Roosevelt
El Capitan
Yosemite granite formation
- Half DomeBisected-looking granite dome
- free-soloClimb without safety equipment
- multi-pitchClimb with sequential rope-lengths
belay · rappel · pitch · anchor · top-rope · bouldering · crux · overhang · chimney · dihedral
Half Dome
Bisected-looking granite dome
- El CapitanYosemite granite formation
batholith
Large underground igneous mass
- exfoliationShedding surface skin cells
- domeRounded vault forming roof
- monolithHuge solitary standing stone
talus · erratic · polish · plutonic · intrusive · feldspar · quartz · biotite · crystalline · weathering
backcountry
Sparsely populated wilderness areas
- pristinePure and untouched
- black bearDark-furred North American ursine
- mule deerLarge-eared western cervid
coyote · bobcat · peregrine falcon · sequoia · manzanita · meadow · ecosystem · biodiversity · habitat · conservation
- American LandformsGrand Canyon, Rocky Mountains, Rockies, Appalachian Mountains, Appalachians
- West CoastCalifornia, Sierra Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Mojave Desert
- Climbing SpotsEl Capitan, Joshua Tree, Red Rocks, Squamish, Fontainebleau
- YosemiteHalf Dome, El Capitan, giant sequoias, granite cliffs
- California CanyonsLaurel Canyon
- landformsmountain, cliff, volcano, mountain ridge, hill
Yosemite Valleymountain peak
Topmost point of elevation
Mount Everest · summit · Denali · mesa · butte
Yosemite ValleyDeath Valley
Below-sea-level California desert
Sahara Desert · Gobi Desert · Mojave Desert · the Outback · salt flat
Yosemite ValleyManhattan
NYC's densest borough
Times Square · Las Vegas Strip · Tokyo · industrial zone · urban sprawl