Vernal Fall

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Vernal Fall

Location Yosemite Valley, Yosemite NP, CA, US
Type Plunge
Total height 317 feet
Number of drops 1
World height ranking 860

Vernal Fall [1] is a large waterfall on the Merced River just downstream of Nevada Fall in Yosemite National Park, USA.

It is 317 feet (97 m) high.[2] It is accessible via the Mist Trail, which climbs close enough to the fall so that hikers must travel through the fall's mist. It is also clearly visible from Glacier Point.

The waterfall runs all year long, although by the end of summer, it is substantially reduced in volume and can split into multiple strands, rather than a single curtain, of water.

The original name of the fall was Yan-o-pah ("little cloud").[3] The fall was named "Vernal" by Lafayette Bunnell, a member of the Mariposa Brigade in 1851. Apparently, the fall reminded Bunnell of springtime.[4]

Contents

[edit] Hiking trail

Hikers will start at the trailhead in Yosemite Valley. This is one of the shortest (1.3 miles) --though in places steep-- and most popular trails in Yosemite. The trail is mostly shaded and is progressive in incline until you reach the base of the waterfall where mist sprays onto the hikers. Depending on the time of the year hikers can be totally drenched by the time they pass the mist from the waterfall. The final 15 minutes of the trail is a very steep climb up rocks to the top of the waterfall. Once atop the falls there is a pool of water around which hikers lounge and rest. There is also a 20 degree slope of rock with water flowing into the pool that people use to slide into the pool. Obviously, swimming above a waterfall can carry with it a great deal of risk and it is against the park rules; nevertheless, almost every summer several tourists are swept over the Yosemite Valley's waterfalls to their deaths.


[edit] Pictures

Fall and hikers from the connector trail to the John Muir Trail

Spring meltwaters rush past Siver Apron into Emerald Pool.

Hikers climb through the eponymic mist on the Mist Trail below the fall.

Trail-side safety barriers help to prevent falls into the Merced River.

[edit] References and Notes

  1. ^  The official name is singular, see USGS National Mapping Information about Vernal Fall.
  2. ^  Huber, N. King. The Geologic Story of Yosemite Valley. USGS Western Region Geologic Information. Retrieved on September 20, 2005.
  3. ^  Farquhar,Francis P. (1926). Place Names of the High Sierra. San Francisco: Sierra Club. ASIN B000869H3W. 
  4. ^  Bunnell, Lafayette Houghton (1991). Discovery of the Yosemite and the Indian War of 1851 Which Led to That Event. Yosemite Association. ISBN 0-939666-58-8. 

[edit] External links

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Waterfalls in Yosemite Valley

Yosemite | Nevada | Vernal | Bridalveil | Ribbon | Illilouette | Lehamite | Sentinel | Silver Strand | Snow Creek | Staircase | Royal Arch Cascade | Horsetail
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