Page 708 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

706  C ALIFORNIA

The High Sierras village, displays the history of the
Native Miwok and Paiute people,
Forming a towering wall at the eastern side of along with works by local artists.
central California, the densely forested, 14,000-ft- Nearby is the Ahwahnee Hotel
(4,270-m-) high Sierra Nevada Mountains were formed (see p712). Built in 1927, this is
3 million years ago. Known as the High Sierras, these one of the country’s best­
known hotels. Just to the south
rugged mountains make up one of the state’s most of the Valley Visitor Center, the
popular recreation areas, preserved by a series of tiny wooden Yosemite Chapel
national parks. (1879) is the sole reminder of
the park’s Old Village, dating
protects some of the from the 19th century.
world’s most beau­ Standing nearly 1 mile (1.6 km)
tiful mountain terrain. above the valley floor, the
Soaring cliffs, rugged silhouette of the Half Dome
canyons, valleys, cliff has become the symbol of
gigantic trees, and Yosemite. Geologists believe
waterfalls all combine that it is now three­quarters
to lend Yosemite of its original size, rather than
its incomparable a true half. It is thought that
beauty. Each season 15,000 years ago glacial ice
Skiing at Lake Tahoe’s Alpine Meadows Resort offers a different floes moved across the valley,
experience, from the scything off rock, depositing it
! Lake Tahoe swelling waterfalls of spring to downstream. A formidable trail
the russet colors of fall. Numer­ leads to the 8,840­ft (2,695­m)
n 3066 Lake Tahoe Blvd, (530) 544­
5050. ∑ visitinglaketahoe.com ous roads, bus tours, bike paths, summit, offering panoramic
and hiking trails lead visitors views of the valley. The other
The deep, emerald waters of from one awe­inspiring pano r­ major cliff, El Capitan, standing
this beautiful lake are set within amic view to another. guard at the valley’s western
an alpine valley at the highest Yosemite Valley is a good base entrance, attracts rockclimbers,
point of the High Sierras. For from which to explore the who spend days on its sheer
over a century, Lake Tahoe has park. Yosemite Museum, in the face to reach the top. But the
been a year­round recreational
haven, offering water sports,
hiking, and camping. South
Lake Tahoe, the largest town
here, caters to visitors headed
for Nevada’s casinos. To its west,
the inlet of Emerald Bay State
Park is the most photographed
part of the lake. To the north
is the D.L. Bliss State Park with
its 1903 Ehrman Mansion.
The surrounding peaks are
also famous for their ski resorts.
The world­class Alpine
Meadows and Squaw Valley
are well­known because the
Winter Olympics were held
here in 1960.
@ Yosemite
National Park
£ from Merced. @ Yosemite Valley.
@ from Merced. n PO Box 577,
Yosemite, (209) 372­0200. Open daily.
& 7 = 0 ∑ nps.gov/yose
A wilderness of evergreen forests,
high meadows, and sheer
granite walls, the 1,170­sq­mile
(3,030­sq­km) Yosemite National
Park (established in 1890) El Capitan, the world’s largest piece of exposed granite, Yosemite National Park
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp710–12 and pp713–15

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.7)
Date 1st October 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm