Yosemite National Park – A Land of Perpetual Beauty
Located in California, US and covering approximately 1,200 square miles of land, Yosemite National Park is a vast territory of natural beauty with spectacular waterfalls, tall granite cliffs (including the world’s tallest granite monolith called El Capitan), Giant Sequoia groves, crystal clear streams, and an overwhelming biological diversity. It’s a place where nature lovers come to reconnect with Mother Earth and stand in awe of her majesty.
Around four million tourists visit the park every year, and most of them choose the Yosemite Valley for a destination. The valley covers only 1 percent of the park, but it represents the very heart of the entire reservation. Not because of its location, but because this is where the entire concept of national parks started to take shape.
Back in the mid-19th century a number of lobbyists determined President Abraham Lincoln to sign a bill that would ensure protection from development in the Yosemite Valley. The following years brought the surrounding mountains and forests under the same law, and so the first national park took shape as a natural temple for the fascinating local flora and fauna.
In 1984 Yosemite became a World Heritage Site with approximately 95% of it being declared wilderness. In an ever changing world where people live for years in a row surrounded by concrete and steel buildings, a pristine place like this is a true slice of heaven. There are over 160 rare plants in the park, growing on unique local soils and rare geologic formations. There are also hundreds of species of animals here, as the park includes five of the seven continental life zones.
If you come to the park to hike (there are about 800 miles of trails to explore) or to camp, you may have the privilege of seeing some really amazing creatures, such as mule deer, brush rabbits, marmots, chipmunks, pikas, warblers, and many, many more. You will also love the huge sequoias that can live for 3,000 years, the many different flowers in bloom, the lakes, the waterfalls, the mountains, and everything in between. No picture can do justice to the beauty of Yosemite, but you can catch a glimpse of it in ourphoto gallery.