Yosemite National Park, located in the central eastern portion of California, has been founded since 1890. The park is known for its natural habitats and abstract scenery. Tourist enjoy hiking in Tuolumne Meadows, lodging in Yosemite Valley, fishing in the Eastern Sierra and even skiing in the Mammoth Lakes mountain resort. But what any do not know is that all of these attractions were created by one phenomenon, glaciation. On three different occasions during the Great Ice Age era, Yosemite was masked by glacial advances. These specific glaciers “along with stream erosion and mechanical weathering, deepened Yosemite Valley, widened it and produced the extremely steep valley walls” (Glaciers, 2005-2014). Developing a breathtaking attraction
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The Miwok Indian tribe that once roamed the Yosemite area, created an urban legend that the Half Dome was a chastisement from the Heavens. “The legend tells us that a young married couple was arguing. The wife, Tesaiyac, in her despair threw a basket of acorns at her husband as he was chasing after her. The gods, as punishment, turned them into stone. The husband became North Dome, the basket became Basket Dome, and Tesaiyac became Half Dome. If you look closely, you can see the outlined profile of Tesaiyac on the face of Half Dome and tears running down her face” (Yosemite Half Domes, 2013-2014). Although this story is completely unrealistic, it still encouraged geologist to find truth in the Half Domes creation. During the Cretaceous period, the Pacific tectonic place and the North American plate were slowly merged together and downward. This movement caused the edges of the plates to reach their melting points and they commenced to spit out pillowing lava. This specific lava solidifies under water and after numerous intrusions; the molten rock began to form giant granite figures. “Later, as overlying rocks were eroded away, the intrusive granite was revealed at the surface and eventually uplifted” (How Half Dome Formed). After being eroded for some time, large amounts of pressure were released from the rounded crown of the Half Dome. This absence of pressure lead to a type of weathering called exfoliation, and whole sheets of rock were peeling off at a time. This process “is mostly responsible for the peaks contour today” (How Half Dome Formed,
The Miwok Indian tribe that once roamed the Yosemite area, created an urban legend that the Half Dome was a chastisement from the Heavens. “The legend tells us that a young married couple was arguing. The wife, Tesaiyac, in her despair threw a basket of acorns at her husband as he was chasing after her. The gods, as punishment, turned them into stone. The husband became North Dome, the basket became Basket Dome, and Tesaiyac became Half Dome. If you look closely, you can see the outlined profile of Tesaiyac on the face of Half Dome and tears running down her face” (Yosemite Half Domes, 2013-2014). Although this story is completely unrealistic, it still encouraged geologist to find truth in the Half Domes creation. During the Cretaceous period, the Pacific tectonic place and the North American plate were slowly merged together and downward. This movement caused the edges of the plates to reach their melting points and they commenced to spit out pillowing lava. This specific lava solidifies under water and after numerous intrusions; the molten rock began to form giant granite figures. “Later, as overlying rocks were eroded away, the intrusive granite was revealed at the surface and eventually uplifted” (How Half Dome Formed). After being eroded for some time, large amounts of pressure were released from the rounded crown of the Half Dome. This absence of pressure lead to a type of weathering called exfoliation, and whole sheets of rock were peeling off at a time. This process “is mostly responsible for the peaks contour today” (How Half Dome Formed,