Location
 California, United States
of America
Weather/Climate
 Receives most precipitation
from January – March
 Summers are warm and dry,
while Winter is the season
of snow and solitude
 Spring and Fall are
transitional months with
warm sunny days that can
turn into storms
 Clouds can build during
summers to produce
incredible thunderstorms
Landforms
 Rock formations,
meadows, wetlands,
waterfalls, giant
sequoias, mountains,
and the wilderness
(forests)
 Glacier Point, Mariposa
Grove, Half Dome,
Yosemite Valley, Cook’s
Meadow, Sentinel
Meadow, Stoneman
Meadow, and Leidig
Meadow, and many more
Waterways
 There are a vase amount
of waterfalls, rivers, lakes,
and creeks in Yosemite.
 Horsetail Falls, Yosemite
Falls, Tenaya Lake, Mirror
Lake, Hetch Hetchy
Reservoir, and more
 The rivers flow through
Wawona, Yosemite
Valley, Tuolumne
Meadow and into creeks.
Vegetation
 Located all over park, but
mainly in Foot-Hill
Woodland Zone, Alpine
Zone, and the forests
 Lichens, black oak,
wildflower, sequoias, and
invasive plants
 Over 200 types of non-native
plants
 Walks and trails were made
in the park just to show the
variety of plants and how
beautiful they are
Animals
 High diversity in species
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(over 400)
Amphibians, reptiles, fish,
birds, mammals, insects and
their relatives
There are about 120 species
of amphibians, 22 reptiles,
and 256 birds.
Fish are both native and
non-native
Red fox, black bear, bobcat,
spotted owl, bats, goldenmantled ground squirrel,
bass, and many more
Environmental Issues
 The air quality is bad because of
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pollution and smoke from natural
fires in the park
Aquatic resources are decreasing
Invasive species are threatening
biodiversity of vegetation
Douglas-fir Tussock Moth is
eating away white fir trees
Soundscape in park is getting too
loud so at times it is hard to hear
the beauty of the nature
Dam removal
Forest pests
History/Culture
 7 present day tribes descend from people who first
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called Yosemite their home
Europeans arrived in mid-1800’s and caused
disruption which displaced native population
Early white settlers had writers, artists, and
photographers who spread fame of “the
Incomparable Valley”
Euro-Americans settled on foot, horseback, and rail
President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill granting
Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove to California in
1864
John Muir helped create idea of Yosemite National
Park in 1890
People used to mine and lived in lodging
establishments (Wawona Hotel)
Museums at park have more than 4 million items
from early settlers
The library at the park has 10,000 books related to
the park, as well as articles and photographs
Preservation Efforts
 Done through archeological and
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architectural recognition
Structures, artifacts, and trails
symbolize human value
Archeologists documented over
1,500 sites from first settlers and
kept everything they left behind to
uncover clues of settlement,
cultural history, demography,
economic systems, and social
organizations
Natural settings of Yosemite
influence architecture of buildings
in the park
Old El Portal Schoolhouse