Yosemite National Park: 120 Years in Pictures

Correction appended: Friday, Oct. 1



Scottish born American conservationist John Muir (right) stands with President Theodore Roosevelt (left) on top of Glacier Point. Muir was influential in lobbying the government to institute Yosemite as the nation's third national park.



The original version of this slide misstated that ... John Muir was credited with discovering the Yosemite area.

MORE

A cowboy on horseback circa the 1920s parks for a breather at Glacier Point. Today, there are two main trails that operate to and from the spot, warranting a hiker's bus stop instead of stables.

This 1970s time exposure of Yosemite's gargantuan mountain captures a prolific nighttime light show. Beyond wowing astronomers with its occasional after-dark antics, El Capitan serves as the world's largest monolith of granite, keeping rock climbers among the park's most passionate enthusiasts.

Snow collects on the granite wall near Royal Arches in this 1980 winter landscape photo taken from the valley floor. While the park is open 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, most of its trails are covered with snow from December through March.

More than 100 years later, a youngster walks along the banks of the Merced River, in view of El Capitan. This body of water serves as a daily destination for whitewater rafting fanatics. While that was not the fad in 1890, Yosemite continues to captivate visitors with varying interests, thanks to that late-19th century federal ... step to protect the park. MORE