Yosemite National Park Interactive Classroom

Yosemite at a Glance:
Park History

Yosemite's history has helped shape the park as it exists today. Artificial attractions, such as the Firefall (where glowing embers were pushed from the tip of Glacier Point to drop 1,000 feet to the valley below) have been eliminated in favor of preserving and protecting the park's natural resources for future generations.

Geology
Waterfalls

Plants & Animals
The First People

Settlement
Park History

Protection is
Sought

First Park
Protectors

Yosemite Today

Yosemite
Timeline

Yosemite Timeline

Click on the years below to find out what was happening in the park then.

You can also view or print a non-interactive version of this information. (9K). (Click here to get the Adobe Acrobat Reader.)

Yosemite at a Glance | Yosemite in Depth | Teacher Resources | Discovery Center

Yosemite National Park Home Page
http://www.nps.gov /archive/yose/education/glance/park_history/timeline2.htm
Last modified Wednesday, 22-Dec-2004 10:14:50 Eastern Standard Time
Yosemite National Park Web Manager

1997

Major floods occured in January that dramatically impacted Yosemite National Park.

1990

Yosemite celebrated its first 100 years as a national park. Major forest fires burned in the park in August.

Bighorn 1986

California Bighorn Sheep were first reintroduced into Yosemite.

1980

The Yosemite General Management Plan, a long-range planning document for the park, was completed.

1970

Shuttle Bus The free shuttlebus system was initiated in Yosemite Valley.

1969

The first prescribed burn was accomplished in Yosemite National Park in the Mariposa Grove. The Wawona Tunnel Tree fell over after a severe winter. The Glacier Point Hotel burned down.

1968

The Firefall was eliminated as an artificial attraction. During a Firefall glowing embers were pushed from the tip of Glacier Point and dropped 1,000 feet to Yosemite Valley.

1923

Construction of the O'Shaughnessy Dam began. The dam formed the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir on the Tuolumne River.

1926

The All-Year Highway (Highway 140) was completed. This eventually resulted in abandonment of the Yosemite Valley Railroad in 1945.

1915

The fee to enter Yosemite National Park was $5.00 per automobile.

1914

Civilian rangers replaced U.S. Army cavalry units as park "protectors" in Yosemite. Autobuses replace horse-drawn stages traveling into the park from El Portal.

First Automobile in Yosemite 1913

Automobiles legally entered Yosemite National Park for the first time.

1907

The Yosemite Valley Railroad began operation from Merced to El Portal.

1905

Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove were included as part of Yosemite National Park.

1890

Yosemite National Park was established on October 1st. The national park didn't originally include Yosemite Valley or the Mariposa Grove, but encompassed a larger area around them.

1881

Stagecoach Driving through Tree The Yosemite Stage and Turnpike Company had a tunnel cut through the Wawona Tree in the Mariposa Grove so stages could pass through it.

1877

The Yosemite Stage and Turnpike Company established the first organized stageline in Yosemite.

Yosemite Valley 1864

Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove were set aside by the federal government as the first state park in the world.

James Hutchings 1855

James Hutchings organized the first tourist party to visit Yosemite Valley. Thomas Ayres, an artist with the group, drew the first known sketches of Yosemite Valley.