The Waterfalls Of Yosemite

One of the great fringe benefits of living in Northern California is its proximity to some of the most beautiful sites and places in all the world. And the most beautiful valley I have ever seen lies less than two hours' drive from my home in Yosemite National Park. The valley was carved out of granite by glaciers during the last Ice Age and--when the glaciers melted--they left an 8-mile-long valley of enduring and incomparable splendor.

The granite walls stretch some 4,000 feet above the valley floor, with half a dozen creeks tumbling from hanging valleys above to form the headwaters of the Merced River which flows from the western end of Yosemite and then down into the San Joaquin Valley on its way to the Pacific. But before the river is joined, a total of nineteen waterfalls tumble from the precipice of those granite cliffs into the valley below.

And it is now--in the mid-spring and particularly during the month of May--that the allure and the power and the magnificence of Yosemite's waterfalls are at their peak. The snows of the past winter are melting, and the runoff is turbocharging the Wonderful Waterfall Machine more than at any other time of the year. Not only that, but particularly in a year like we've had this year--with rains and snow accumulation above normal--the result is utterly breathtaking.

Even the names of Yosemite's falls are enchanting: Bridalveil Falls, Vernal Fall, Horsetail Falls, Illilouette Fall, Ribbon Falls, Waterwheel Falls, Royal Arch Cascade, Sentinel Fall, Staircase Falls, and--probably the most famous of them all--the namesake, Yosemite Falls. Altogether, there are nineteen named waterfalls in Yosemite with drops ranging from as short as Vernal's 317 feet (but still a beautiful and quite powerfall waterfall) to Yosemite's 2425 feet.

Nowhere else in the world is there such a concentration of major waterfalls in one place. Ribbon and Upper Yosemite rank among the world's highest. Bridalveil, Yosemite, and Vernal are among the most famous. And when you visit--especially during the month of May--you literally wonder why the entire valley is not floating away for the sheer volume of water which is spilling into the valley from so many places, from so many waterfalls.

For those of you who live within a long day's drive of Yosemite, I urge you to indulge your senses and see this amazing natural wonder. For those of you who live further away, please mark your calendars for any May of any year to make the journey.





And for those who may live half a world away, I have included this link to let you know what you're missing: http://www.terragalleria.com/photos/?keyword=yosemite-waterfalls .

To see the waterfalls of Yosemite in the mid-spring is something we should all include on the list of things we'll do before we die.