Fourth Stop: Half Dome Rockfalls: Lithosphere This picture depicts an occurrence of rockfall on July 27, 2006. Image Source: http://www.nps.gov/yose/naturescience/r
ockfall.htm One of Yosemite’s famous landmarks is the Half Dome—a granite dome located in Yosemite National Park, or the northeastern end of Mariposa County. The rockfalls occurring on Half Dome are examples that represent a geographical feature of the lithosphere. The geographical process that results in the rockfalls at the Half Dome is when the combination of erosion—gradually being worn away—tectonic stresses cause the granite rock to crack or break. Furthermore, the rockfalls at the Half Dome formed due to cracks, or fractures, that ran alongside and parallel to the surface, otherwise known as sheet joints. Subsequently, the sheet joints would form large sheets of rock that would fall away due to do exfoliation—the separation of small sheets of rock from the original structure. The rockfall at Half Dome is one reason that there is a flat side. Resources Used for this pamphlet: First Stop: Yosemite National Park—Foothill-­‐ Woodland Zone 1.http://www.nps.gov/yose/nat
urescience/plants.htm 2.http://www.biosbcc.net/b100
plant/htm/chamise.htm Second Stop: Yosemite Falls 1. http://www.undiscovered-­‐
yosemite.com/yosemite-­‐
falls.html 2.http://geology.about.com/od/
structureslandforms/ig/erosional
/gulch.htm 3.http://www.yosemite.ca.us/yo
semitefallsfacts.html Third Stop: Yosemite Valley 1.http://www.weather.gov.hk/e
ducation/edu01met/wxphe/ele_
fog06_e.htm 2.http://www.crh.noaa.gov/jkl/?
n=fog_types Fourth Stop: Half Dome 1.http://www.nps.gov/yose/nat
urescience/rockfall.htm 2.http://www.britannica.com/E
Bchecked/topic/198023/exfoliati
on 3.http://www.britannica.com/E
Bchecked/topic/191809/erosion Image Source: Snapshot from the video:—
http://vimeo.com/35396305 Image found on Google.com Field Trip to Yosemite/Mariposa County Stop A: Yosemite National Park (Foothill-­‐
Woodland Zone) Stop B: Yosemite Falls Stop C: Yosemite Valley Stop D: Half Dome On this field trip, we will be exploring the geographical wonders of Yosemite! During the field trip, we will be stopping at 4 different areas to observe Yosemite’s highlighting examples of the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and First Stop: Yosemite National Park — Foothill-­‐Woodland Zone Third Stop: Yosemite Valley Chamise: Biosphere Fog: Atmosphere The Foothill-­‐Woodland Zone is one of the many areas at Yosemite that houses many fascinating plants, trees, and vegetation. Located at the lowest elevation at the p ark, this particular area caters more to plants that thrive on drier and hotter weather. One of the many plants that are located in the Foothill-­‐Woodland Zone is the chamise, a chaparral shrub from the rose family. Though chamise is native to the state of California, these shrubs can also be located in other parts of the country. Chamises grow in stands in climates that are hot and dry. They are usually found in mountain slopes that face south. The type of soil needed to grow this shrub requires little to maintenance. In fact, chemise grows in soil that is low in fertility and upon surfaces that bumpy and rugged. Thus, the Foothill-­‐Woodland Zone of Yosemite is the perfect home for this species. Cbamise shrub grows in Foothill-­‐
Woodland Zone. Picture of the Foothill-­‐
Woodland Zone, the lowest elevation at the Yosemite National Park. Image Source: http://www.nps.gov/yose/nat
urescience/plants.htm Image Source: http://www.miriam
eaglemon.com/pho
to_gallery/Special Pages/San Diego/Post Fire Surveys.html Overview of the upper fall of Yosemite Falls. Image Source: http://www.summitpost.org/upper-­‐
yosemite-­‐falls/538936 Second Stop: Yosemite Falls Waterfall: Hydrosphere Yosemite National Park is home to a couple beautiful waterfalls, however Yosemite Falls has to be one of the park’s most famous. The fifth tallest waterfall in the world, Yosemite Falls is one of the wonders that many tourists come to Yosemite for. Though there are a few causes that can result into waterfalls, the Yosemite Falls’s drop from a hanging valley formed prior to the Sierra Nevada uplift. Before the uplift, the streams were identically leveled. The hanging valley resulted from the incapability of the sideways tributary—or a small body of water that flows into a larger body of water—to maintain consistency with the speed of pulverizing of nearby mountainous glaciers and the fast slicing of the Merced River. As the river was continually sliced, the lateral streams began to form gulches—deep ravines—into the river. As this geological spectacle occurred, the formation of the Yosemite Falls started to come about. Nestled among some of Yosemite’s mountains and forests, this valley produces a scenic view of Yosemite. In p articular, the winters in the Yosemite Valley highlight one of the atmosphere’s natural features: fog. Though fog Is common in various locations, Yosemite Valley in the winter serves to be a perfect background to observe the nature of upslope fog amongst a cascade of white snow. The geographical process that creates this particular type of fog, upslope fog, in the atmosphere begins when wind is being blown in the direction of a amount. As this is occurring, air rises along the slope of the mountain, and the air temperature lowers as the air rises higher and higher. When the air temperature lowers, the water vapor embedded in the air experiences condensation—a process when a gaseous form of a substance becomes liquid or solid once again. Subsequently, the condensation will result in miniscule water droplets; when there is an abundance of these water droplets, the upslope fog forms. Picture of Yosemite Valley covered with a relatively dense layer of upslope fog. Image Source: http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/media_detail/714/