Synopses & Reviews
In 1851 a small militia trekked through Californiaandrsquo;s Sierra Nevada Mountains and discovered a site so spectacular that, over the succeeding century and a half, millions of others would follow to gaze upon its splendor: Yosemite. Publishing in time for the 125th anniversary of Yosemite National Park, Kate Nearpass Ogdenandrsquo;s
Yosemite offers a comprehensive look at both the scientific and cultural history of this remarkable place, exploring everything from its geological origins to the political will it took to preserve it.
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Known for its unusual and dramatic rock formations, breathtaking vistas, and treasure trove of waterfalls, Yosemite receives nearly four million visitors a year. Scanning over these crowds, Ogden soon leaves them to walk through Yosemiteandrsquo;s history, back to its original name, andldquo;Ahwahneeandrdquo;andmdash;given by its Miwok inhabitantsandmdash;and the tragic irony behind what we call it now, which early Anglo-American visitors mistook as the Miwok appellation, but which some scholars now suggest in fact means andldquo;there are killers among them.andrdquo; Visiting with famed stewards such as John Muir, and lesser-known ones such as James Mason Hutchings and Galen Rowell, she recounts the valleyandrsquo;s discovery by westerners, exploration, exploitation, and its eventual preservation as one of the first National Parks. Ogden also looks at the many artworks it has inspired and the larger hold it has had on the imagination and our dreams of the unspoiled American west.
Rich in detail and beautifully illustrated with everything from landscape photography to paintings inspired by its beauties, this book is a must read for anyone who has ever stepped into this incomparable valleyandmdash;or anyone who has wanted to. and#160;and#160;
Synopsis
Few places in the nation rival Yosemite National Park for vertigo-inducing cliffs, plunging waterfalls, and stunning panoramic views of granite peaks. Many of the features that visitors find most tantalizing about Yosemite have unique and compelling geologic storiestales that continue to unfold today in vivid, often destructive ways. While visiting these more than twenty-seven amazing sites, you'll discover why many of Yosemite's domes shed rock shells like onion layers, what happens when a volcano erupts under a glacial lake, and why rocks seem to be almost continually tumbling from the region's cliffs. With a multitude of colorful photos and illustrations, and prose tooled for the lay reader, Geology Underfoot in Yosemite National Park will help you read the landscape the way a geologist does.
About the Author
Kate Nearpass Ogden is professor of art history at Stockton University in Galloway, New Jersey. Her essays on the artists of Yosemite Valley have appeared in Yosemite: Art of an American Icon and Yosemite and Sequoia: A Century of California National Parks.