In the classic nature work, The Yosemite, the great American naturalist, John Muir, describes the Yosemite valley's geography and the myriad types of trees, flowers, birds, and other animals that can be found there. The Yosemite is among the finest examples of John Muir nature writings.The Yosemite is a classic nature/outdoor adventure text and a fine example of John Muir nature writings. In this volume, Muir describes the Yosemite valley's geography and the various types of trees, flowers and animals that can be found there. John Muir (April 21, 1838 - December 24, 1914) was a Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions. His activism helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is a prominent American conservation organization. The 211-mile (340 km) John Muir Trail, a hiking trail in the Sierra Nevada, was named in his honor.[2] Other such places include Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach, John Muir College, Mount Muir, Camp Muir and Muir Glacier. In Scotland, the John Muir Way, a 130 mile long distance route, was named in honor of him. In his later life, Muir devoted most of his time to the preservation of the Western forests. He petitioned the U.S. Congress for the National Park bill that was passed in 1890, establishing Yosemite National Park. The spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature expressed in his writings inspired readers, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large nature areas. He is today referred to as the "Father of the National Parks" and the National Park Service has produced a short documentary about his life. Muir has been considered 'an inspiration to both Scots and Americans'. Muir's biographer, Steven J. Holmes, believes that Muir has become "one of the patron saints of twentieth-century American environmental activity," both political and recreational. As a result, his writings are commonly discussed in books and journals, and he is often quoted by nature photographers such as Ansel Adams. "Muir has profoundly shaped the very categories through which Americans understand and envision their relationships with the natural world," writes Holmes. Muir was noted for being an ecological thinker, political spokesman, and religious prophet, whose writings became a personal guide into nature for countless individuals, making his name "almost ubiquitous" in the modern environmental consciousness. According to author William Anderson, Muir exemplified "the archetype of our oneness with the earth", [ while biographer Donald Worster says he believed his mission was "...saving the American soul from total surrender to materialism." 403 On April 21, 2013, the first ever John Muir Day was celebrated in Scotland, which marked the 175th anniversary of his birth, paying homage to the conservationist. Muir was born in the small house at left. His father bought the adjacent building in 1842, and made it the family home.

Both Central Park in New York and Yosemite Valley in California became public parks during the tumultuous years before and during the Civil War. Rolf Diamant and Ethan Carr demonstrate how anti-slavery activism, war, and the remaking of the federal government gave rise to the American public park and concept of national parks. The authors closely examine Frederick Law Olmsted's 1865 Yosemite Report--the key document that expresses the aspirational vision of making great public parks keystone institutions of a renewed liberal democracy.

National parks like Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Glacier preserve some of this country's most cherished wilderness landscapes. While visions of pristine, uninhabited nature led to the creation of these parks, they also inspired policies of Indian removal. By contrasting the native histories of these places with the links between Indian policy developments and preservationist efforts, this work examines the complex origins of the national parks and the troubling consequences of the American wilderness ideal. The first study to place national park history within the context of the early reservation era, it details the ways that national parks developed into one of the most important arenas of contention between native peoples and non-Indians in the twentieth century.

This comprehensive study focuses on the history and basketry of the Miwok and Paiute inhabitants of the area in and around Yosemite. National Park. Illustrated with hundreds of historic images as well as photographs from the Yosemite Museum collection, many published for the first time, it details the dramatic changes that took place in the lives and weaving of Yosemite's native people from prehistoric times to the present.

Here is a comprehensive handbook designed to help all photographers — from beginners to experts — capture the landscape, flora, and fauna of one of the best places on earth. These tips and directions from Yosemite local Michael Frye are an indispensable resource for anyone who wants to take better pictures in Yosemite and elsewhere. Last updated over a decade ago, The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite has been revised to include advice especially for digital photography, and includes new full-color reproductions of Frye’s own work to serve as examples and inspiration. Every aspect of photographing this magnificent park is covered, including: In-depth descriptions of nearly 40 outstanding locations Information on the best months and times of day for successful shots Detailed maps indicating prime viewpoints Tips on technique and equipment More than 100 stunning full-color photographs

Leader of the first tourist expedition into Yosemite in 1855, James Mason Hutchings became a tireless promoter of the valley-and of himself. Seeking to create an alternative to California's Gold Rush social chaos, Hutchings whetted the public enthusiasm for this unspoiled land by mass producing a lithograph of Yosemite Falls, while his Hutchings' California Magazine beat the drum for tourism. But because of his later legal imbroglios over the park, Hutchings was effectively written out of its history, and today he is largely viewed as an opportunist who made a career out of exploiting Yosemite. Now Jen Huntley removes the tarnish from Hutchings's image. She portrays him instead as a "connector" who brought artists to Yosemite and Yosemite to Americans, and uses his career as a lens through which to view the contests and debates surrounding the creation of Yosemite, and, by extension, America's emerging ethic of land conservation. Blending environmental and cultural history, she tracks Hutchings's professional trajectory amidst significant changes in nineteenth-century America, from technological advances in printing to the growth of tourism, from the birth of modern environmental movements to battles over public lands. Huntley uses Hutchings's legal battles with the government over ownership of land in the Yosemite Valley to analyze larger battles over public land management and national identity. She also explores the role of urban San Francisco in designating Yosemite a public park, shows how the Civil War transformed Yosemite from a regional icon to a national symbol of post-war redemption, and takes a closer look at Hutchings's relationship with John Muir. Making Yosemite sheds light on the role of power, class dynamics, and the late-century ideal of individualism in the shaping of modern America's sacred landscapes. Hutchings emerges here as a visionary communicator who cleverly tapped into midcentury Americans' attitudes toward spectacular scenery to create a sense of place-based identity in the American Far West. Huntley's revisionist approach rediscovers Hutchings as a key player in the histories of American media, tourism, and environmentalism, and suggests new terrain for scholars to consider in writing the histories of our national parks, conservation, and land policy.