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Geologic Trip, Yosemite
Valley Yosemite Falls Yosemite Falls are one
of the main scenic attractions of Yosemite Valley. At the top of the Upper
Fall, the water from Yosemite Creek descends 70 feet through a chute worn in
the top of the cliff. When the water leaves the chute, it leaps clear of the
cliff and descends 1,430 feet in a broad parabolic curve to the base of the
Upper Fall. This is reportedly the highest leaping waterfall in the world.
After collecting itself at the base of the Upper Fall, the water descends 675
feet through a chain of cascades to the top of the Lower Fall. The water then
drops another 320 feet over the Lower Fall. The combined drop of the falls
and cascades is 2,425 feet.
The Upper Fall, like
Bridalveil Fall, is a hanging valley. During the Plio-Pleistocene uplift and
west tilting of the Sierra Nevada, Yosemite Creek was unable to keep pace
with the rapid downcutting of the Merced River and the creek descended into
the Merced River Valley in a series of cascades. During Pleistocene
glaciation, the wall of Yosemite Valley was steepened by glacial erosion.
This erosion removed the most of the cascades and left the valley of
Yosemite Creek hanging high above the valley floor. Exterior Websites National Park Service: USGS: Yosemite Hikes: _____ |