Dedication
TO THE SIERRA CLUB OF CALIFORNIA
FAITHFUL DEFENDER OF THE
PEOPLE’S PLAYGROUNDS
Illustrations
The Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park Frontispiece
The total height of the three falls is 2600 feet. The upper fall is about 1600 feet, and the lower about 400 feet. Mr. Muir was probably the only man who ever looked down into the heart of the fall from the narrow ledge of rocks near the top.
From a photograph by Charles S. Olcott
Sheep in the Mountains 8
Since the establishment of the Yosemite National Park the pasturing of sheep has not been allowed within its boundaries, and as a result the grasses and wild flowers have recovered very much of their former luxuriance. The flock of sheep here photographed were feeding near Alger Lake on the slope of Blacktop Mountain, at an altitude of about 10,000 feet and just beyond the eastern boundary of the Park.
From a photograph by Herbert W. Gleason
A Silver Fir, or Red Fir (Abies magnifica) 90
This tree was found in an extensive forest of red fir above the Middle Fork of King’s River. It was estimated to be about 250 feet high. Mr. Muir, on being shown the photograph, remarked that it was one of the finest and most mature specimens of the red fir that he had ever seen.
From a photograph by Herbert W. Gleason
The North and South Domes 122
The great rock on the right is the South Dome, commonly called the Half-Dome, according to Mr. Muir “the most beautiful and most sublime of all the Yosemite rocks.” The one on the left is the North Dome, while in the center is the Washington Column.
From a photograph by Charles S. Olcott
Cathedral Peak 154
This view was taken from a point on the Sunrise Trail just south of the Peak, on a day when the “cloud mountains” so inspiring to Mr. Muir were much in evidence.
From a photograph by Herbert W. Gleason
The Vernal Falls, Yosemite National Park 182
From a photograph by Charles S. Olcott
The Happy Isles, Yosemite National Park 190
This is the main stream of the Merced River after passing over the Nevada and Vernal Falls and receiving the Illilouette tributary.
From a photograph by Charles S. Olcott
The Three Brothers, Yosemite National Park 208
The highest rock, called Eagle Point, is 7900 feet above the sea, and 3900 feet above the floor of the valley.
From a photograph by Charles S. Olcott
From the United States Geological Survey
From Sketches Made by the Author in 1869
| Horseshoe Bend, Merced River | 14 |
| On Second Bench. Edge of the Main Forest Belt, above Coulterville, near Greeley’s Mill | 14 |
| Camp, North Fork of the Merced | 38 |
| Mountain Live Oak (Quercus chrysolepis), Eight Feet in Diameter | 38 |
| Sugar Pine | 50 |
| Douglas Squirrel observing Brother Man | 68 |
| Divide between the Tuolumne and the Merced, below Hazel Green | 86 |
| Track of Singing Dancing Grasshopper in the Air over North Dome | 140 |
| Abies Magnifica (Mount Clark, Top of South Dome, Mount Starr King) | 142 |
| Illustrating Growth of New Pine from Branch below the Break of Axis of Snow-crushed Tree | 144 |
| Approach of Dome Creek to Yosemite | 150 |
| Junipers in Tenaya Cañon | 164 |
| View of Tenaya Lake showing Cathedral Peak | 196 |
| One of the Tributary Fountains of the Tuolumne Cañon Waters, on the North Side Of the Hoffman Range | 196 |
| Glacier Meadow, on the Headwaters of the Tuolumne, 9500 Feet above the Sea | 204 |
| Mono Lake and Volcanic Cones, looking South | 228 |
| Highest Mono Volcanic Cones (Near View) | 228 |
| One of the Highest Mount Ritter Fountains | 240 |
| Glacier Meadow strewn with Moraine Boulders, 10,000 feet above the Sea (near Mount Dana) | 248 |
| Front of Cathedral Peak | 248 |
| View of Upper Tuolumne Valley | 252 |