What) Yosemite National Park is located in east central California. The park covers an area of 761,266 acres and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves and biological diversity. Almost 95% of the park is designated wilderness. Although not the first designated national park, Yosemite was central to the development of the national park idea, largely owing to the work of people like and Galen Clark and John Muir.

    Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada, and the park supports a diversity of plants and animals. The park has an elevation range from 2,000 to 13,114 feet (610 to 4,000 m). Of California's 7,000 plant species, about 50% occur in the Sierra Nevada and more than 20% within Yosemite.

    The geology of the Yosemite area is characterized by granitic rocks and remnants of older rock. About 10 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada was uplifted and then tilted to form its relatively gentle western slopes and the more dramatic eastern slopes. The uplift increased the steepness of stream and river beds, resulting in the formation of deep, narrow canyons. About 1 million years ago, snow and ice accumulated, forming glaciers at the higher alpine meadows that moved down the river valleys. Ice thickness in Yosemite Valley may have reached 4,000 feet (1,200 m) during the early glacial episode. The down slope movement of the ice masses cut and sculpted the U-shaped valley that attracts so many visitors to its scenic vistas today. (1)

    Why) Yosemite is one of those famous places that you hear about many times over the years.  When you are driving by there is really no choice about stopping in.