Yosemite at a Glance:
Settlement

With the permanent settlement of the California coast by non-Indians in the 18th century, the lives of California Indians began to change. Spain had extended its empire from Mexico into California and established a chain of missions and coastal settlements in the late 1700s.

Geology
Waterfalls

Missions

Franciscan friars hoped to convert native people to Christianity and to teach European skills. Most of the Indian people in California went to missions after coming to believe that the way of life that they knew had ended. The native people could not explain the appearance of the Spanish or their technology.