Yosemite Becomes a National Park

a Significant Historical Event in United States History

1. What is the history of

Yosemite that leads up to the

founding of Yosemite as a National Park?

The Southern

Sierra Miwok

Tribes called the valley

Ahwanee, their home. It means “Place of

Gaping Mouth.”

Miwok woman with child.

More than 7,000 to 10,000 years ago Indians

inhabited the area.

They traded acorns and plants with Mono Lake

Paiute for furs.• Miwoks gathered acorns from Oak trees.

Non-Indians began arriving in

1830’s and the 1840’s. Unfortunately, the

Mariposa Indian War drove most of the Miwoks out of

their beloved valley.

In 1848 the park was over-run by gold seekers. By 1855 tourists arrived to view the beauty and grandeur of the

park.

Cathedral Peak

Mariposa Grove became the

first public preserve.

Yosemite became a national park in 1906.

2. Who are the key figures in the history of

Yosemite?

Robert Underwood Johnson, editor of

Century magazine, planned a campaign

with John Muir to make Yosemite a national

park.

John Muir was an environmentalist who fought to

have Yosemite become a national park.

• John Muir (right) meets with President Theodore Roosevelt to discuss making Yosemite a national park.

Galen Clark was known as the guardian of Yosemite.

Galen Clark explores the beauty of Yosemite.

3. Why is the designation of

3. Why is the designation of Yosemite as a National Park a

significant event in U.S.

history?

Tourists began visiting the park in 1855 and it

remains a top tourist destination today.

Many tourists visit the park to see the waterfalls.

• Visitors flock to see the famous Yosemite firefall.

Environmentalists have fought to preserve Yosemite as a

natural scenic wonder from the park’s beginning to the present.

Works Cited

© 2002 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. INTEL® TEACH TO THE FUTUREPage 1 of 1 with support from Microsoft

http://www.cde.ca.gov/standards/reading/grade5.html

http://www.50states.com/bio/

http://www.nps.gov/yose/pphtml/nature.html

http://www.scenicwonders.com/pictures/halfdome.html

http://info.fuw.edu.pl/multimedia/sounds/

http://www.naturesongs.com

http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/

http://www.americanparknetwork.com/parkinfo/yo/history/galen.

html

http://www.americanparknetwork.com/parkinfo/yo/history/index.html

http://mariposa.yosemite.net/woodland/miwok.htm