| Yosemite National Park is the
best-known of a collection of preserved wild lands in
California's Sierra Nevada, a spectacular mountain range
near California's border with the state of Nevada.
Yosemite National Park's fame is mostly due to the
striking beauty of Yosemite Valley, whose flat floor
contrasts with nearly vertical granite walls over which
pour several major waterfalls. In addition to the
Valley, Yosemite includes an extensive high-mountain
wilderness of mountain peaks, rivers, and meadows, and
groves of giant sequoia trees. Yosemite National Park
lands extend from 2000 feet (600m)
to more than 13,000 feet (3900m)
above sea level and cover about 761,266 acres (308,000
hectares), or about 1,189 square miles.
Yosemite lands were first
preserved by the United States Congress and President
Abraham Lincoln who, in 1864, at the height of the
American Civil War, granted them to the people of
California for preservation. At that time, the federal
government was very limited in size and wealth, and the
concept of a "national park" had not yet
emerged, so authorizing California to preserve these
federal lands seemed appropriate. This original land
grant comprised just under 39,000 acres (15,500
hectares), or about 60 square miles, and included
Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of giant
sequoias. In 1890, Yosemite was added to the new
national park system that had begun with the
preservation of Yellowstone National Park in 1872.
The park's 200 miles (320km)
of roads give access to many of its features by private
vehicle and in some areas by free shuttle bus. To get to
know the real Yosemite, however, leave your car or
shuttle bus and travel even a short distance on a trail.
You don't have to go far to discover the grandeur that
can be found here and the values this special place
offers. Millions of people have come to Yosemite and
left refreshed and relaxed and perhaps a bit more
knowledgeable about what they want out of life.
Yosemite National Park is
administered by The National Park Service, U.S.
Department of the Interior.
More Info: http://www.nps.gov/yose/
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