Yosemite at a Glance: Waterfalls

The Yosemite Creek watershed, which feeds Yosemite Falls, contains 43 square miles. It is largely a granite basin that was scraped clean of soil by receding glaciers. Because of the shallow soil base, the Yosemite Creek watershed has little capacity to hold water, so it quickly drains as the snow melts.

Geology
Waterfalls

Watershed

Bridalveil watershed, half the size of the Yosemite Creek watershed, has deep soil that was never touched by glaciers. The wet, marshy soil releases the reserve of water slowly, so Bridalveil Fall usually flows year-round.

The watershed at the source of the Merced River contains 118 square miles. Beginning along the eastern ridges of the Clark range, which often retains snow year-round, the Merced River flows through a large, glacially scoured basin. The watershed is drained by a seemingly infinite number of waterways, and Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall seldom if ever run dry.