Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, CA, 6/6/2011
Late one afternoon in June I arrived at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park hoping to make a photograph of Half Dome to the east in beautiful sunset light. I soon realized the clouds were too dense to permit any direct light on the dome, but looking northward I spotted this colorful cloudy view of Yosemite Falls and Overhanging Rock. The famous photographer Galen Rowell referred to this variety of photograph as a dynamic landscape - constantly changing, and never to be seen again. This is my favorite type of photograph to make! Glacier Point is a viewpoint high above Yosemite Valley. It is located on the south wall of the valley at an elevation of 7,214 feet above sea level, about 3,200 feet directly above Curry Village. Reminiscent of a gargoyle atop a European cathedral, solid granite Overhanging Rock is impressive and dramatic precisely because it rests unsupported thousands of feet above the valley floor. Glacier Point offers a superb view of the valley, including Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, Vernal Fall, Nevada Fall, and Clouds Rest. The extreme point of the promontory of Glacier Point is wholly bare, but on the slopes below, in the hollow to the west, and on the wooded slope above, glacial material is abundant. Its glacial origin is definitely proved by the presence in it of rocks derived from Little Yosemite Valley and the High Sierra. The total height of Yosemite Falls is 2,425 feet, and the height of the longest drop (the upper fall) is 1,430 feet. Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in North America and the sixth tallest waterfall in the world.
