Nevada Fall, Yosemite
Nevada Fall is a 181m high waterfall on the Merced River in Yosemite National Park, CA. The precipitous drop begins about 5m beyond that bridge above (note the rising spray).
The fall is located below the granite dome of Liberty Cap (off to the right of shot) at the west end of Little Yosemite Valley. The water free-falls for roughly the first third of its drop to a steep slick-rock slope. This mid-fall impact of the water on the cliff face creates a turbulent, white water appearance in the falls and produces a great deal of mist which covers a wide radius, which led to its current name (Nevada is a Spanish word meaning "snowy").
The Indian name was Yo-wy-we, signifying the twist or squirm of the falling water. Lafayette Bunnell suggested the name "Nevada" for the waterfall. He wrote, "The Nevada Fall was so called because it was the nearest to the Sierra Nevada, and because the name was sufficiently indicative of a wintry companion for our spring (Vernal Fall) ... The white, foaming water, as it dashed down Yo-wy-we from the snowy mountains, represented to my mind a vast avalanche of snow."
Below Nevada Fall, and some 800m further downstream, the Emerald Pool forms on a "step" between Nevada Fall and Vernal Fall downstream. The 97m high Vernal Fall is a short hike from the bottom of Nevada Fall. They form a cascade in which the Merced River flows down to Yosemite Valley. This cascade is sometimes called the giant staircase, which is evident when viewed from above, at Glacier Point.
I hiked from the Happy Valley trailhead in Yosemite Valley up to the top of Nevada Fall along the first 4.3 km or so of the John Muir Trail. There is a more direct (and much steeper) route, the Mist Trail, which is much closer to the river, but it gets spray from the falls, and in May, as this was, that would be a lot of spray. I was equipped for rain, but not for a deluge... The John Muir Trail crosses that bridge and, if you have a permit, continues on up to the top of Half-Dome, off to the right of shot, a 26 km round-trip with a total climb of 1600m up and the same back down.
In spite of the dangers (which are well signposted!) the pool above Nevada Fall remains a popular swimming location, with no park restrictions. In June 2018, an 18-year-old man fell from a cliff-edge near the fall while attempting to take a selfie.
Scanned from a negative taken during my last trip on which I used film.
Nevada Fall, Yosemite
Nevada Fall is a 181m high waterfall on the Merced River in Yosemite National Park, CA. The precipitous drop begins about 5m beyond that bridge above (note the rising spray).
The fall is located below the granite dome of Liberty Cap (off to the right of shot) at the west end of Little Yosemite Valley. The water free-falls for roughly the first third of its drop to a steep slick-rock slope. This mid-fall impact of the water on the cliff face creates a turbulent, white water appearance in the falls and produces a great deal of mist which covers a wide radius, which led to its current name (Nevada is a Spanish word meaning "snowy").
The Indian name was Yo-wy-we, signifying the twist or squirm of the falling water. Lafayette Bunnell suggested the name "Nevada" for the waterfall. He wrote, "The Nevada Fall was so called because it was the nearest to the Sierra Nevada, and because the name was sufficiently indicative of a wintry companion for our spring (Vernal Fall) ... The white, foaming water, as it dashed down Yo-wy-we from the snowy mountains, represented to my mind a vast avalanche of snow."
Below Nevada Fall, and some 800m further downstream, the Emerald Pool forms on a "step" between Nevada Fall and Vernal Fall downstream. The 97m high Vernal Fall is a short hike from the bottom of Nevada Fall. They form a cascade in which the Merced River flows down to Yosemite Valley. This cascade is sometimes called the giant staircase, which is evident when viewed from above, at Glacier Point.
I hiked from the Happy Valley trailhead in Yosemite Valley up to the top of Nevada Fall along the first 4.3 km or so of the John Muir Trail. There is a more direct (and much steeper) route, the Mist Trail, which is much closer to the river, but it gets spray from the falls, and in May, as this was, that would be a lot of spray. I was equipped for rain, but not for a deluge... The John Muir Trail crosses that bridge and, if you have a permit, continues on up to the top of Half-Dome, off to the right of shot, a 26 km round-trip with a total climb of 1600m up and the same back down.
In spite of the dangers (which are well signposted!) the pool above Nevada Fall remains a popular swimming location, with no park restrictions. In June 2018, an 18-year-old man fell from a cliff-edge near the fall while attempting to take a selfie.
Scanned from a negative taken during my last trip on which I used film.