Vernal Fall
| Vernal Fall | |
|---|---|
 Vernal Fall from Mist Trail |
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| Location | Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California |
| Coordinates | 37°43′39″N 119°32′38″W / 37.7274262°N 119.5437725°WCoordinates: 37°43′39″N 119°32′38″W / 37.7274262°N 119.5437725°W |
| Type | Plunge |
| Total height | 317 feet (97 m) |
| Number of drops | 1 |
| World height ranking | 860 |
Vernal Fall is a 317 feet (97 m) waterfall on the Merced River just downstream of Nevada Fall in Yosemite National Park, California.[1][2]
The feature is accessible via the Mist Trail, which climbs close enough to the fall so that hikers must travel through the fall's mist. It is also clearly visible from Glacier Point.
The waterfall runs all year long, although by the end of summer it is substantially reduced in volume and can split into multiple strands, rather than a single curtain of water.
Yan-o-pah (little cloud) was the local name of the fall before it was named "Vernal" by Lafayette Bunnell, a member of the Mariposa Brigade in 1851.[3][4]
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[edit] Hiking trail
Hikers will start at the Happy Isles trail head in Yosemite Valley. Travel is generally East-South-East. This is one of the shortest (1.3 mi/2.1 km)—though in places steep—and most popular trails in Yosemite. The trail is mostly shaded and is progressive in incline until it reaches the base of the waterfall where mist sprays onto the hikers.
Depending on the time of the year hikers can be totally drenched by the time they pass the mist from the waterfall. The final 15 minutes of the trail is a very steep climb up rocks to the top of the waterfall. Once atop the falls there is a pool of water called the Emerald Pool around which hikers lounge and rest. There is also a 20 degree slope of rock with water flowing into the pool called the Silver Apron.
Swimming above a waterfall is against park rules and can carry with it a great deal of risk: rocks are slippery, and strong undercurrents exist that may not be visible from the surface. Nevertheless, tourists have been swept over Yosemite Valley's waterfalls to their deaths.[5] Though warnings are clearly posted to stay out of the water, more than a dozen people have died in the last decade by entering the water above Vernal Fall, including the Silver Apron and Emerald Pool.
One person died in May 2007 after hopping from rock to rock around Vernal Fall. Three people died after being swept over the falls in the same manner on July 19, 2011.[6]
[edit] Postage stamp
The fall is shown in error on a 1932 Philippines stamp. Although the stamp indicates that it depicts the Pagsanjan Falls in the Philippines, it in fact shows the Vernal Fall.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ N. King Huber. "The Geologic Story of Yosemite Valley". USGS Western Region Geologic Information. Archived from the original on 2005-11-11. http://web.archive.org/web/20051111103541/http://geology.wr.usgs.gov/docs/usgsnps/yos/topobk.html. Retrieved 2005-09-20.
- ^ The official name is singular, see U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Vernal Fall
- ^ Farquhar, Francis P. (1926). "V - Vernal Fall". Place Names of the High Sierra. San Francisco: Sierra Club. OCLC 2871447. http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/place_names_of_the_high_sierra/v.html.
- ^ Bunnell, Lafayette Houghton (2003) [1880]. Discovery of the Yosemite and the Indian War of 1851 Which Led to That Event. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, National Digital Library Program. OCLC 51675913. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/calbk.vg20. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
- ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43815801/ns/us_news-life/
- ^ Brad Knickerbocker (July 21, 2011). "Yosemite waterfall accident a cautionary tale for Yosemite visitors". The Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0721/Yosemite-waterfall-accident-a-cautionary-tale-for-Yosemite-visitors. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
- ^ Poblete, Johanna D. (2008-07-04). "Bits of history". Business World. http://www.bworldonline.com/Weekender070408/main.php?id=stayin2. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vernal Fall |
- Place Names of the High Sierra, "V", Francis Farquhar
- United States Geological Survey. "Topographical Map for 37.7274262, -119.5437725". http://www.topoquest.com/map.asp?lat=37.7274262&lon=-119.5437725&s=24&size=l&u=4&datum=nad27&layer=DRG. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- View a short video embedded in Google Maps
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