Yosemite National Park – David J. Kent

Yosemite National Park is arguably one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It certainly was inspiring enough to Galen Clark, John Conness, John Muir, and Abraham Lincoln – yes, Abraham Lincoln – for it to become our first federally protected land (later a national park). And having seen it close up, from the valley to the cliffs, I can see why they were so inspired.

El Capitan – Yosemite National Park

Studying the science of Yosemite is awe-inspiring in itself. A series of glaciers slithered down an ancient river valley to cut the canyon. Thirty thousand years ago the valley was filled with seemingly living ice, carrying sixteen types of granite rock as it slowly inched its way downward. About 10,000 years ago, after the glaciers melted, you would have found that a moraine had dammed the Merced River near Bridal Veil Falls and created a shallow lake. Eventually that lake filled with sediment to leave the flat valley floor of present day Yosemite.

Yosemite Falls in drier times

El Capitan, the massive granite outcropping that epitomizes Yosemite, boasts the world famous Yosemite Falls. Except when it doesn’t. The thundering falls are actually quite ethereal, violently cascading over the cliff face in the spring as the winter snows melt, then dwindling down to nothing by late summer. As the photo above shows, the thin snow melt season, combined with California’s multi-year drought, has left its mark on the cliff walls where the falls once roared.

Half Dome from Glacier Point

The other iconic feature of Yosemite is Half Dome. Never a complete dome, it nevertheless has been shaped by millennia of glacial action, erosion, rock falls, and earthquakes to reach the smoothed and cut shape it has today. Just one of many domes in Yosemite, which hosts more domes than anywhere else on Earth, Half Dome is the result of a geologic process called “exfoliation,” where huge slabs of curved rock split off and fall to the valley below.

Mariposa Grove

But Yosemite shouldn’t all be taken for granite; the Park also encompasses the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia trees. Once widespread in North America, Europe, and Asia, the Giant Sequoia now are limited to a few dozen sites on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Joined by their close cousins, the Coast Redwoods, these huge trees inspire one to gaze skyward and contemplate the majesty of the heavens.

I’ll pick up on the great trees in future posts as Science Traveling explores other National Parks…and beyond.

David J. Kent is an avid traveler and is currently working on a book about his experiences traveling in Argentina. He is also the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the ebook Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time.

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El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, Glacier Point. We’ve all heard of the wonders of Yosemite National Park in California, but how many knew that the park was started by Abraham Lincoln? June 30th, 2014 marks the sesquicentennial of Lincoln’s signing of the Yosemite Grant, the law that created what we now affectionately know as Yosemite.

“Not just a great valley, but a shrine to human foresight, the strength of granite, the power of glaciers, the persistence of life, and the tranquility of the High Sierra.” Leave it to the National Park Service to so succinctly capture the beauty of Yosemite. For this privilege we owe our gratitude to the unfortunately forgotten Galen Clark and John Conness, to John Muir, and to Abraham Lincoln for having the foresight to protect natural lands even as the Civil War interminably dragged on for its third year. Tunnel_View,_Yosemite_Valley,_Yosemite_NP_-_Diliff

Canadian-born Galen Clark had moved to California for the Gold Rush. Unsuccessful in that endeavor and fighting for his life against tuberculosis, Clark spent much of his time roaming in the mountain air. Inspired by, and concerned for, the beauty of the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia trees, he wrote to friends and Congress pleading for their protection. Getting the support of Irish-born Senator John Conness, Clark managed to motivate a Congress interested in strengthening Union connections with the relatively new state of California. President Lincoln, who had by this time already signed laws allowing land grants, homesteads, and the transcontinental railroad, was eager to support westward expansion. On June 30,1864 he signed the Yosemite Grant providing federal protection for Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove, which was quickly ceded over to California and became the first California State Park. Galen Clark became the first “Guardian of the Grant.”

The importance of this act cannot be overstated. For it to have happened at all while the country was in the midst of tearing itself apart is a testament to Lincoln’s and Congress’s foresight. Lincoln’s signature set precedent for establishing Yellowstone as the first National Park in 1872, to be followed by protection for other pristine – and irreplaceable – vistas.

And then there is John Muir. Muir is probably best known for his advocacy of Yosemite and the nearby Hetch Hetchy Valley. Muir’s efforts to save Hetch Hetchy were ultimately unsuccessful, but Muir teamed up with influential Century Magazine editor Robert Underwood Johnson to recapture Yosemite from state park status to federal. On October 1, 1890 Yosemite National Park was created. Johnson also urged Muir to set up a new conservation group to advocate for the preservation of all of the Sierra Nevada mountain region, and in 1892 the Sierra Club was born. [More below the video]

Those who have read my book on Nikola Tesla may recognize the names of Robert Underwood Johnson and John Muir for another reason. Johnson was a big publisher of Tesla’s articles in Century Magazine. Coincidentally, he also published the serialization of John Nicolay and John Hay’s Abraham Lincoln: A History prior to its release in book form. Muir was one of many famous guests that attended Johnson’s gala parties in his New York mansion, and became friends with another frequent guest – Nikola Tesla.

Small world, isn’t it?

Other articles connecting Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla:

How are Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla Connected?

Tesla to Edison to Lincoln – Connecting the Dots

Happy Birthday Robert Todd Lincoln – Witness to Three Assassinated Presidents

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David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, scheduled for release July 31, 2017. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

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