Nature & Science

Yosemite’s 747,956 acres (1,169 square miles), nearly 95 percent of which are designated Wilderness, are home to hundreds of wildlife species, and over a thousand plant species. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is known for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves and biological diversity. Two Wild & Scenic Rivers, the Tuolumne and Merced rivers, begin in the park and flow west to the Central Valley. The park is a scientific laboratory of hydrology, geology and glaciology, amongst other sciences.

 

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  Plants

  The native plants of Yosemite National Park are a significant part of the exquisite beauty and biological diversity of the park.

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  Animals

  Yosemite National Park supports more than 400 species of vertebrates including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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  Wildland Fire

  Fire managers use three tools to mimic fire's natural function in the ecosystem: prescribed fire, mechanical thinning, and wildfire.

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  Climate Change in Yosemite

  What does it mean to conserve and protect a place during a time of large-scale environmental change?

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  Ecological Restoration

  Restoration projects seek to restore the natural balance of the park; you can see work in our meadows, wetlands, forests, and riverbanks.

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  Natural Features and Ecosystems

  Yosemite is a scientific laboratory of hydrology, geology and glaciology, amongst other sciences.

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  Visitor Use

  Social science methods provides us with tools to understand how visitor behavior and characteristics affect park resources.

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  Environmental Factors

  Yosemite’s environment is healthy in many ways, yet it can be affected by factors such as poor air quality and invasive species, and noise.

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  Research and Studies

  A variety of scientific research is ongoing in Yosemite; animal species studies, invasive plant removal tactics, and user capacity issues.

 

Learn More

• Learn about how Yosemite's scientists work on a regional level through the Sierra Nevada Inventory & Monitoring Network.

• View park statistics and natural resource statistics.

• View the schedule for the public Yosemite Forum, sponsored by the Resources Management and Science division.

• NPS science-based libraries: The NPS Library Catalog offers an increasing number of links to digitized texts in the public domain.

• Search NPGallery, a digital collection including historical and current photos and documents from across the NPS.

• The Biodiversity Heritage Library catalogs resource documents from 12 science-based institutions that have 2 million volumes of literature to support researchers.

• Learn about the park's History & Culture from people, places, stories, collections to preservation.