Yosemite Valley in the Sierra Nevada of California is a world famous scenic location. The Yosemite Valley is located in Yosemite National Park.
Tunnel View, 4/14/2002 -- Claude A. Muncey -- released under GFDL
Description
Granite Walls
Water
Natural Yosemite Valley
Geology
Botany
Zoology
History
One animal found throughout the valley is Homo sapiens - man. The recent history of the Valley is the history of human visitors, first Native Americans, then European settlers, then visitors from arouund the world.
Native Americans in Yosemite
Native Americans have lived in the Yosemite region for as long as 8,000 years. The first people that we have record of was a band of Miwok that called the Valley "Ah-wah-nee" and themselves the "Ah-wah-nee-chee". This group had trading and family ties to Mono Paiutes from the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. They annually burned the vegetation on the Valley floor, which promoted the black oak and kept the meadows and forests open. This protected the supply of their principal food, acorns, and reduced the chance of ambush. At the time of first European contact, this band was led by Chief Teneiya, who was raised by his mother among the Mono Paiutes.
First European Visitors
The first non-natives to see Yosemite Valley were probably members of the 1833 Joseph Walker Party, which was the first to cross the Sierra Nevada from east to west. But the first descriptions of Yosemite came nearly 20 years later. The 1849 California gold rush led to conflicts between miners and natives, and the vollunteer Mariposa Battalion was formed by the state of California as a punitive expedition against natives in the Yosemite area. In 1851 the Battalion was led by Major James D. Savage, whose trading post on the Merced River had been raided by the Awaneechee. This and other missions resulted in Chief Teneiya and the Awaneechee spending some months on a reservation in the San Joaquin Valley. The band returned the next year to the Valley, but took refuge among the Mono Paiutes after further conflicts with miners. Most of the Awaneechee (along with Teneiya) were chased back to the Valley and killed by the Paiutes after violating hospitality by stealing horses.
While the members of that first expedition of the Mariposa Battalion had heard rumours of what could be found up the Merced River, none was prepared for what they saw March 27, 1851 from what is now called Old Inspiration Point (close to the better visited Tunnel View). Dr. Lafayette Bunnell later wrote:
- The grandeur of the scene was but softened by the haze that hung over the valley -- light as gossamer -- and by the clouds which partially dimmed the higher cliffs and mountains. This obscurity of vision but increased the awe which which I beheld it, and as I looked, a peculiar exalted sensation seemed to fill my whole being, and I found my eyes in tears with emotion.
Camping that night on the Valley floor, the group agreed with the suggestion of Dr. Bunnell to call it "Yo-sem-i-ty", mistakenly believing it to be the native name. (Bunnell was also the first of many to underestimate the height of the Valley walls; one San Francisco newspaper demanded of him that his estimate of 1500 feet for the valley rim -- less than half the true height -- be cut in half before publication).
James Hutchings organized the first tourist party to the Valley in 1855.