Yosemite National Park facts: 5 million visitors and giant cliffs

Yosemite National Park facts: a park built for preservation

Yosemite National Park facts begin with a place that was protected long before it became famous worldwide. In 1864, the Yosemite Grant was signed by President Abraham Lincoln and declared Yosemite federally preserved land. It was one of the first places where the U.S. government set aside land specifically for preservation and public use.

That conservation story deepened in 1890, when John Muir helped push Congress to establish Yosemite National Park. By 1984, the park had also been designated a World Heritage Site. Those dates frame a landscape that has long been treated as more than scenery.

How big is Yosemite Valley?

Yosemite Valley is the centerpiece of Yosemite National Park. It stretches about seven and a half miles long and drops roughly 3,000 to 3,500 feet deep, giving the park one of its most dramatic natural stages.

The valley is surrounded by granite walls and landmark features that define the park’s profile. Half Dome rises 3,000 feet above the Yosemite Valley floor, while El Capitan stands out as a prominent granite cliff and a favorite rock climbing destination. Together, they make the valley one of the most recognizable landscapes in the United States.

Which waterfall is highest in North America?

Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America. It is one of the park’s signature sights and part of the reason visitors come to Yosemite Valley in every season.

Another famous feature is Horsetail Fall, which can glow orange during sunset on rare occasions in mid- to late February. That brief color shift gives the waterfall a very different look from the rest of the park’s granite and snow.

Yosemite also includes the Lyell Glacier, the largest glacier in Yosemite National Park. The park’s water, ice, and stone all help explain why its scenery has drawn attention for generations.

How much of Yosemite is wilderness?

Almost 95 percent of Yosemite National Park is designated wilderness. That means most of the park is managed as protected wild land, with very little of it developed compared with the size of the overall landscape.

The sequoia groves add another layer to that protected setting. Yosemite has three groves of ancient giant sequoia trees, including the Mariposa Grove with 200 trees. These groves connect the park’s granite country with some of its oldest living giants.

When did Yosemite set visitation records?

Yosemite National Park set a visitation record in 2016, surpassing five million visitors for the first time. The park had a record number of five million visitors that year.

That figure sits alongside the park’s earlier conservation milestones and its famous landmarks. Yosemite combines a federally preserved history, a World Heritage designation, towering granite cliffs, North America’s highest waterfall, and ancient sequoia groves in one place.

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