World Famous Yosemite-Falls
Picture courtesy of BackpackingFun.com
Yosemite-Falls is very well known. This National Park has several waterfalls but this is the most famous of them all! This magnificant waterfall consists of three parts. The Upper Falls, The Lower Falls and a cascade of water in between. The upper part is 1430 feet tall. The lower part is 320 feet tall. The cascade in the middle is 675 feet. All combined the water falls 2425 feet, almost a half of a mile! This is the tallest waterfall in North America. Here is are some interesting facts about this waterfall. The lower fall is twice as high as Niagara Falls. Yet the lower fall is less than one-forth the height of Yosemite's upper fall! Another fact is that the granite does not absorb the water. However, layers of frost in the winter will gradually loosen layers of granite and every once in awhile chunks of granite will fall away. In 1975 a large patch of granite fell away from this particular waterfall. It left a lighter gray spot to the left at the base of the upper falls. You may walk to the base of the Lower Falls. It takes about 15 minutes. When the water is going at full force you will get wet! There is a bridge to stand on at the base of the falls and you can watch the water pass underneath you. If the water is not at a high level you may climb on the rocks to the pool at the base of the falls and take a cold swim! Or, find the perfect rock and bask in the sun! Here are some pictures of my family swimming in the pool in July 2007!
When the snow melts in the spring, you will see water pour forth like no other time. By summer and autum the water is reduced to a trickle and some years it is completely dried up. On a night that has a full moon and water spilling forth, you will see a moon bow! A moon bow is a white rainbow seen only on a full moon night at the base of the falls. It is very cool!
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