MacOS Big Sur; macOS Catalina; macOS Mojave; macOS High Sierra; macOS Sierra; OS X El Capitan; OS X Yosemite; OS X Mavericks; OS X Mountain Lion; Mac OS X v10.7 Lion; Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard; Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard; Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger; Mac OS X v10.3 and earlier; Mac OS X Technologies; Classic Mac OS (OS9, OS8 & System 7) Photos for Mac. OS X Yosemite Simulator TV Version by ibradley2334; OS X Yosemite Simulator remix by ellistomas; Mac OS X Sierra (10.12.0) by -Apple-Inc; Mac OS X 10.7 by PigVenomPV; OS X Yosemite X Kirby Simulator by honnybean; Mac OS Simulator by ownh; What a mac does. By Youtuberfan153; OS X Yosemite Simulator remix by ZAWSZEANONIM; OS X El Capitan.
Yosemite National Park
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Kenneth Pletcher
Ken Pletcher was Senior Editor, Geography and History for Encyclopædia Britannica. He holds an M.A. in Japanese studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As part of his master's program,..
Yosemite National Park, scenic mountain region in east-central California, U.S. It is situated about 140 miles (225 km) east of the city of San Francisco and some 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Sacramento. Devils Postpile National Monument lies about 15 miles (25 km) to the east, and Kings Canyon National Park is about 40 miles (65 km) to the southeast. File transfer between windows and android. The park, surrounded on all sides by national forest lands, encompasses 1,189 square miles (3,080 square km). It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984. Park headquarters are located at Yosemite Village in Yosemite Valley, in the west-central part of the park.
National Parks and Landmarks Quiz
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Natural history
The park is situated in the heart of the Sierra Nevada range, and most of it lies within the basins of the Merced and Tuolumne rivers. The land rises from west to east, the eastern boundary forming a drainage divide. Most of the tallest peaks are in the southeastern area of the park, many exceeding 10,000 feet (3,050 metres); Mount Lyell, at 13,114 feet (3,997 metres), is the highest summit. Glaciation has sculpted a number of deep U-shaped valleys, notably the Yosemite Valley of the Merced River. The valley—which curves in a gentle arc about 7 miles (11 km) long and between 0.5 and 1 mile (0.8 and 1.6 km) wide—features a number of attractions, such as sheer rock walls that rise 3,000 to 4,000 feet (900 to 1,200 metres) above the valley floor, Yosemite Falls, and huge domes and peaks. The greatest of these domes is El Capitan, a granite buttress near the western end of the valley that rises to 7,569 feet (2,307 metres) above sea level and towers some 3,600 feet (1,100 metres) above the valley. Overlooking the head of the valley is Half Dome, which reaches an elevation of 8,836 feet (2,693 metres) and provides a commanding view from its top. The renowned Yosemite Falls consists of Upper Yosemite Fall, Lower Yosemite Fall, and the cascades between them; their combined drop of 2,425 feet (740 metres) is one of the highest cataracts in the world. Other notable waterfalls in the valley include Bridalveil, Nevada, Ribbon, and Vernal falls.
Yosemite’s climate is strongly influenced by elevation and by the mountainous terrain. Summers are warm, with many hot days when high temperatures often reach or exceed 90 °F (32 °C) in the valley, and afternoon thunderstorms can occur, especially at higher elevations. Winters are cold and snowy. Although winter daytime highs are often mild in the valley, temperatures at higher elevations typically remain below freezing. Precipitation is moderately high and falls mostly as snow during the winter; annual total precipitation in the valley averages about 36 inches (910 mm), and snowfall averages about 65 inches (1,650 mm).
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Plant life in the park changes markedly with elevation. Lower elevations are characterized by scattered trees (both deciduous and coniferous), shrubs, and meadows that fill with wildflowers in the spring. At the level of Yosemite Valley grow larger stands of conifers that include groves of big trees (the giant sequoias), notably at the Mariposa Grove in the southern part of the park; higher up, closer to the timberline, are mountain hemlocks and lodgepole pines; and still higher are rocky alpine areas that support only cold-tolerant species such as lichens.
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Animal life is plentiful and varied within the park. Large mammals include mule deer, black bears, coyotes, mountain lions (pumas), and the endemic and endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae). Various squirrels, chipmunks, and bats constitute most of the smaller mammals, which also include the rare and endangered Pacific fisher (Martes pennati pacifica). More than 250 species of birds have been observed in the park, of which some 165 species reside there or visit regularly and the others are seen there only occasionally. Among the more common birds found are Steller’s jays, western meadowlarks, and mountain bluebirds. In addition, there are populations of amphibians (including salamanders, toads, and frogs), lizards (notably western pond turtles), and fish (especially trout).
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Administration
Superintendent: Cicely Muldoon, Acting
2019 Operating Budget: $29 million
2019 NPS Employees at Yosemite: 800 summer and 478 winter
2019 Yosemite Hospitality Employees at Yosemite: 1,300 summer and 800 winter
Size
Land Mass: 759,620 acres (or 1,187 square miles)
Designated Wilderness: 677,600 acres (or 1,059 square miles; 94.45% of the park)
Bears hit by vehicles: 22 (2019), 15 (2018), 27 (2017), 27 (2016), 39 (2015), 25 (2014), 16 (2013)
Visitor Study Yosemite National Park conducted a winter survey for one week in February 2008. There was a 60% response rate. The entire survey and results can be viewed at the Yosemite National Park Visitor Study: Winter 2008 [638 kb PDF].
91% of visitors were U.S. residents; 89% of those were from California.
9% of visitors were international visitors. With 9% each from Germany, Korea, Taiwan, United Kindgom.
20% of respondents had visited Yosemite National Park at least twice in the past 12 months.
26% of respondents were visiting Yosemite National Park for the first time.
29% of respondents identified themselves as Asian, Hispanic, American Indian and/or African American.
84% of respondents listed 'sightseeing or taking a scenic drive' as their primary activity, 73% taking photographs/painting/drawing and 35% listed 'hiking'.
Yosemite National Park had a comprehensive survey conducted for one week in July 2009. Adobe premiere elements 9 wiki. In it, 1,326 visitor groups were systematically selected from all five park entrance stations. There was a 65% response rate. The entire survey and results can be viewed at Yosemite National Park Visitor Study: Summer 2009 [1.5 MB PDF].
75% of visitors were U.S. residents; and 62% of those were from California.
25% of visitors were international visitors. Of those, 14% were from the United Kingdom, 13% from Germany, and small proportions from 31 other countries.
87% of respondents had visited Yosemite National Park at least once in the past 12 months.
57% of respondents were visiting Yosemite National Park for the first time.
11% of the respondents identified themselves as Hispanic, and 11% as Asian. Of those Asian visitors, the most well-represented races were Chinese (24%) and Japanese (22%).
93% of respondents listed 'viewing scenery' as their primary activity.
The average length of stay for overnight visitors in the park was 57 hours (2.4 days) and the average length of stay in the areas was 83 hours (3.5 days).
The median group expenditure in the park and the surrounding 50-mile area was $490.
Learn more about visitor use and park's management strategies.
More Park Statistics
View the park's natural resource statistics at a glance.