Yosemite National Park

This panoramic photograph of Yosemite National Park was taken by James Blakeway. It features a view of Yosemite Valley with snow-fed Bridalvail Fall on the right side of the valley. Along the left side of the valley is El Capitan, which rises 3,604 feet and is the largest of the many granite domes and peaks. Yosemite lay beneath an ancient sea 500 million years ago. The seabed was thrust upward and molten rock welled up and cooled to form granite. Erosion and Alpine Glaciers carved Yosemite Valley as they cut through the canyon of the Merced River, exposing the granite and El Capitan.