El Capitan
A granite monolith about 914 m (3,000 ft) from base to summit on its tallest face, and one of the world's great walls for climbers.
- Rises
- about 914 m from base to summit
- Wall
- the north side of the valley, near its western end
- Photographed by Watkins
- 1861, on a glass plate 18 by 22 inches
Clouds Rest
Higher than Half Dome and far behind it. Few peaks of its height stand this close to the valley, which is why it reads so large from here.
Half Dome
One sheer face and three smooth, rounded sides - a dome that looks cut in half. Its summit is over 8,800 feet above sea level.
- Summit
- over 8,800 ft above sea level
- Rock
- quartz monzonite
- Seen here
- from about 13 km away, at the valley's eastern end
Sentinel Rock
A granite peak on the valley's south wall, towering over the floor opposite Yosemite Falls.
Sentinel Dome
The bare granite dome on the skyline, on the south rim, less than a mile from Glacier Point. Its summit looks out over the whole valley.
Bridalveil Fall
188 metres (617 ft) of falling water, and it flows all year. The Ahwahneechee name is Pohono.
- Height
- 188 m (617 ft)
- Flows
- all year, heaviest in spring
- Watkins's title
- Pohono, Bridal Veil, 1861
Cathedral Rocks
A row of granite cliffs and spires on the south wall, rising beside Bridalveil Fall - painted by Bierstadt and photographed by Watkins in the same years.
The valley floor
About 12 km long and nearly a kilometre deep, carved by glaciers and drained by the Merced River, which runs under these trees.
- Length
- about 12 km (7.5 mi)
- Depth
- 910-1,070 m (3,000-3,500 ft)
- River
- the Merced
About this picture
The picture under this example is the valley from Tunnel View, which has looked out over it since 1933. Photograph: Diliff, 16 May 2013, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.