Emily 15 10G 1.11.2013
Water Resources in the Yosemite Park
National parks conserve natural scenery and animals from being destroyed. Also,
natural resources like water is also need to be conserved by people. There are many
national parks around the world. But the Yosemite Park is one of the national parks
which is famous for its waterfalls that provides many water for people to put to use.
The Yosemite Park is located in the central of Sierra Nevada of California. It has
many different kinds of animals and plants to form this beautiful national park.
However, the Yosemite waterfall’s water resources are the most important resources
for people, especially for the north California.
The Bridalveil Fall, the most famous waterfall flows down through the Merced
River, which is the main river in the Yosemite Park. They connect together to provide
water for the north California. In this area, the most important for human to use the
water is the irrigation for farming, ‘‘The Merced Irrigation District operates most of
the irrigation, which supplies water to 154,369 acres of farmland’’ (MID Merced
River Irrigation District). Although the water is convenient for the farmers to use, it
causes lots of damage to the nature. According by the MID Merced River Irrigation
‘‘Water that does return to the river does so in for form of irrigation return flows,
which carry pesticides, fertilizer and other pollutions.’’ So, we need to protect the
resources and use it correctly and cherish the water.
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The Merced River water resources also provides millions of the migratory birds
along the Pacific Flyway coming around to the Merced River because there is a rich
water zone for them to take a rest and get food to eat. The water from the Merced
River provides the migratory birds to live and stay. ‘‘Also, there are some tribes live
there including the Miwok and Paiute tribes, lived along the river for thousands of
years’’ (Water in Yosemite National Park) they are the people who conserve the
resources and the nature.
Although the waterfalls provide a lot of resources for the area, it still causes lots
of problems. Such as water flood. ‘‘Yosemite National Park has had 11 winter floods
since 1916 that have caused substantial damage to property. All of these floods took
place between November 1 and January 30. The largest floods occurred in 1937, 1950,
1955, and 1997 and were in the range of 22,000 to 25,000 cubic feet per second, as
measured at the Pohono Bridge gauging station in Yosemite Valley.’’(Water in
Yosemite National Park.). There are floodplains at the bottom of the Merced River in
Yosemite Valley is well developed in some sections, such as in meadow areas in
Yosemite Valley. ‘’The broad, well-developed floodplain that occurs in Yosemite
Valley between Housekeeping Camp and the El Capitan moraine serves many
hydrologic functions, including dissipation of flood water energy as water spreads out
over the flat, expansive plain.’’(Water in Yosemite National Park) So, people can use
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these resources to do many things, the most useful is the energy that water spreads out
over the flat, because we need many energy to do things, such as electricity energy.
We use lights, fan, television; many things need electric energy to start, so it is very
important to us in our everyday life.
However, the headwater of the water resources is from the top of the waterfall.
There are many beautiful waterfalls in the Yosemite. The waterfall that mention on the
top - The Bridalveil Fall that flow through the main Merced River, is 188 meters in
height and flows year round it. So, this waterfall could we be seen every time because
it falls all year long. ‘‘Because of a large basin with lakes, marshes and meadows to
help retain groundwater late into the summer’’ (World Waterfall Database).So the
river in the summer won’t dry. And it won’t cause damage to the river and hurt the
environment.
The second most impressive waterfall that will let visitors like is the Horsetail
fall which is the most well know short-lived waterfall in Yosemite National Park. The
most special thing of the Horsetail Fall is that the "firefall" effect happens during the
second half of February. A clear sky is necessary for the waterfall to glow orange.
‘‘And this is the reason why the falls achieved notoriety. When we viewed from east
of the waterfall, this makes the falling water appear as if it were molten lava tumbling
down to the face of the cliff’’ (Waterfalls of Oregon.). It is amazing and many visitors
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who visited the firefall said that this scenery is incredible and beautiful.
Instead of the water resources that provides water for people, also it provides
waters for animals and plants in the Yosemite Park. For example, fish, swimming in
the river and the water give them a great environment to live. Most fish in Yosemite
National Park have been introduced. ‘‘The series of glaciations that covered much of
the area that is now the park eliminated all fish from the high country. After the
glaciers retreated, the waterfalls and steep gradients that were created on the rivers
and streams by glaciations prevented repopulation of fish by upstream
migration. ’’(Yosemite National Park - Fish.) So, only the lower reaches of the
Tuolumne and Merced Rivers were populated by fish when Euro-Americans first
arrived in Yosemite. Fish in the Yosemite Park have interesting way to live and it is
very cool.
The Yosemite park provides many water resources for the people in the
California. Because of the waterfalls and rivers, they can get lots of things for it.
Yosemite National Park is a beautiful place, you must come and visit the waterfall that
flows down through your eyes, and you will feel like you are going through with the
water and experience an excited journey. Also come and drink the Yosemite water that
produce from the waterfalls, it will taste better than the water that we have in the city.
Water in mountain tastes sweet and special. So, the Yosemite park is a wonderful
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place that we can visit in our life, it full of different kinds of resources in it, so that we
can use it convenient but also we need to cherish the resources that we use. The
National Park is founded everywhere in the world, but the purpose is all the same that
they are try to conserve the nature and make a better environment for human, animals
and plants to live. Also the most important is that we really cannot live without water,
so try to use it correctly and waste it.
Emily 15 10G 1.11.2013
Bibliography:
(MID Merced River Irrigation District).
www.mercedid.org. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
"Bridalveil Fall  Mariposa County, California, United States." Bridalveil Fall.
http://www.worldwaterfalldatabase.com/waterfall/Bridalveil-Falls-235/
"Yosemite National Park - Water Resources." // US-Parks.com
http://www.us-parks.com/yosemite-national-park/water-resources.html
"Water in Yosemite National Park." Water in Yosemite National Park.
http://digital-desert.com/yosemite/water.html
"Yosemite National Park - Fish." National Parks Travel Guide.
http://www.us-parks.com/yosemite-national-park/fish.html