Yosemite
Internationally recognized for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, and giant sequoia groves.
Last updated
Brocken Inaglory · CC BY-SA 3.0
Where it is
Coordinates: 37°51′00″N 119°31′01″W (37.8500, -119.5170) · Open in OpenStreetMap
Coordinates and connected clubs: the infobox of Wikipedia: Yosemite National Park (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map: drawn by Codexery from OpenStreetMap tiles.
Yosemite National Park is a United States national park in California, managed by the National Park Service and covering 1187 square miles across four counties.[1][2] Roughly 95% of Yosemite is classified as wilderness, making it one of the Sierra Nevada's largest and least fragmented habitat blocks.[3]
Geography and history
The first well-documented European American entry into Yosemite Valley occurred in 1851 when the Mariposa Battalion attacked the Ahwahneechee there.[4][5] The word "Yosemite" derives from the Miwok term yohhe'meti, meaning "they are killers," referring to the Ahwahneechee tribe.[6] President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant in 1864, setting aside land for preservation and public use for the first time.[7] The park draws about four million visitors annually, with most spending time in the valley's 7 square miles.[8]

Granite and older rock remnants define the park's geology, with nearly all landforms carved from the Sierra Nevada Batholith.[9][10] Only one percent of the entire park is made up of Yosemite Valley.[11]
What the cited sources add
The Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation states they are people indigenous to Mariposa County and Yosemite, and they are seeking federal recognition.[12][13] The NPS account records that the Wawona Tree was approximately 2,100 years old, 234 feet high, and 26 feet in diameter at the base.[14] The National Park Service history account describes Yosemite's human story as involving conflict, dreams, and the preservation of one of the first national parks.[15]
References
- Wikipedia, "Yosemite National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; ; "Discover the High Sierra", California Office of Tourism (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Yosemite National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Park Statistics", Yosemite National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Yosemite National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Nature & History", United States National Park Service: Yosemite National Park, October 13, 2006; "Yosemite Wilderness", United States National Park Service: Yosemite National Park (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Yosemite National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hull, "Pestilence and Persistence: Yosemite Indian Demography and Culture in Colonial California", University of California Press, 2009; Solnit, "Savage Dreams: a Journey into the Hidden Wars of the American West", University of California Press, 2014; Bunnell, "Discovery of the Yosemite and the Indian War of 1851 Which Led to That Event"; Huntley, "The making of Yosemite: James Mason Hutchings and the origin of America's most popular national park", Univ. Press of Kansas, 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Yosemite National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bunnell, "Discovery of the Yosemite and the Indian War of 1851 Which Led to That Event", F.H. Revell, 1990; Bunnell, "Discovery of the Yosemite and the Indian War of 1851 Which Led to That Event" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Yosemite National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Anderson, "Origin of the Word Yosemite", Yosemite National Park; "Yosemite", Etymonline; Barrett, "Myths of the southern sierra miwok.", Nabu Press, 2010; Anderson, "Origin of the Word Yosemite", Yosemite National Park; Anderson, "Origin of the Word Yosemite", Yosemite National Park; Beeler, "Yosemite and Tamalpais", Journal of the American Name Society, 1955, p. 185–186 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Yosemite National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Huth, Hans, "Yosemite: The Story of an Idea", Sierra Club Bulletin, March 1948, p. 63–76; ; "The Statutes At Large, Treaties, and Proclamations of the United States of America from December 1863, to December 1865", Little, Brown and Company, 1866, p. 325; "History & Culture", United States National Park Service: Yosemite National Park; Diamant and Carr (2022), pp. 54-55.; "Yosemite "State Park"", www.150.parks.ca.gov (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Yosemite National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "History & Culture", United States National Park Service: Yosemite National Park; "Annual Park Recreation Visitation (1904 – Last Calendar Year)", U.S. National Park Service; "Nature & History", United States National Park Service: Yosemite National Park, October 13, 2006; "New visitation record in 2016 as over 5 million people visited Yosemite National Park.", GoldRushCam.com, January 13, 2017; "National Park Service Quiet About Record 2024 Visitation", National Parks Traveler, 2025-03-06 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Yosemite National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Nature & History", United States National Park Service: Yosemite National Park, October 13, 2006 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Yosemite National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; "Geology: The Making of the Landscape", United States National Park Service: Yosemite National Park, December 22, 2004; "Geological Survey Professional Paper 160: Geologic History of the Yosemite Valley – The Sierra Block", United States Geological Survey, November 28, 2006 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Yosemite National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cross, "Mountain majesty Yosemite: The California national park is home to some of the country's most scenic natural wonders.", The Baltimore Sun, 26 May 1996; Conard, "This Hike Is Only Open For Half Of The Year And Boasts The Best Views In Yosemite National Park", July 21, 2024 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Who We Are", Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation. facts only, no text reused. southernsierramiwuknation.org
- "Federal Recognition Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation", SouthernSierra Miwuk. facts only, no text reused. southernsierramiwuknation.org
- "The Myth of the Tree You Can Drive Through", nps.gov. facts only, no text reused. nps.gov
- "History & Culture", United States National Park Service: Yosemite National Park. facts only, no text reused. nps.gov
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Yosemite National Park (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in US National Parks
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Yosemite National Park (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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