Yosemite has been occupied by people for many thousands of years. The latest native people to occupy Yosemite were of the Southern Miwok and Mono Paiutes ancestry. During the gold rush era, the desires of the 49'ers to find gold in this region overcame the native population and they were driven out of the valley. Then in 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill granting Yosemite Valley to the State of California as an inalienable public trust. Due in large part to John Muir's efforts, Yosemite was give National Park status in 1890. It wasn't until 1906 that California turned the control of Yosemite Valley over to the federal government to be included in the Yosemite National Park.

Yosemite started its existence as rolling hills covered with forests (about 3 million years ago). Then the Merced river started to carve a valley and then a canyon into the Yosemite region. It would have remained an undistinguished series of valleys and canyons if it were not for a series of ice age glaciers that deepened the canyon that the Merced river started. Half Dome was one of the few peaks that rose above the glaciers' grinding effect, but even with this massive piece of granite, only half survived. Then as the final glacier melted, Yosemite became a large lake. This lake eventually started to fill in with sediment and filled in the bottom canyons that the glaciers carved. This provided a flat area for a new forest to grow.

Yosemite valley is about 4000 ft. (1220 m.) above sea level. But some of the cliffs that start at the base of Yosemite Valley have a much greater elevation. As pictured above, El Capitan rises to 7570 ft. (2307 m.) and Sentinel Dome elevation is 8120 ft. (2474 m.) The famous Half Dome rises to an elevation of 8840 ft. (2694 m.) and is favored by people who want to test their stamina. Yosemite falls (picture on the right) is a graceful 2425 ft. (739 m.) waterfall consisting of three main drops; the upper fall dropping 1430 ft. (436 m.), the middle cascades descending 675 ft. (205 m.); and the lower fall with the final drop of 320 ft. (97 m).