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“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Yosemite National Park in Mariposa County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
 

A View Through Time

Tunnel View - Yosemite National Park

 
 
A View Through Time Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, July 9, 2009
1. A View Through Time Marker
(Photo caption - middle photo at the bottom of the marker)
Lafayette Bunnell, a member of the Mariposa Battalion, gave names to many of the Valley’s prominent rock formations. He later wrote a book about his first impressions of Yosemite.
(Photo caption - photo on the right side of the marker)
In this 1855 drawing, Valley from Artist’s Point, Thomas Ayres captured the open, park-like nature of Yosemite Valley as it looked in the mid-19th century.
Inscription.
A Burning Tradition
Miwok people, who called themselves Ahwahneechee, lived in Yosemite Valley for thousands of years. Their traditional practice of regularly burning the meadows and oak woodlands of the Valley contributed to the open landscape first seen by the Mariposa Battalion.

“The whole valley had the appearance of park-like grounds, with trees, shrubbery, flowers and lawns.”
Lafayette Bunnell, 1880.

From this breathtaking viewpoint into Yosemite Valley, you can see three of its remarkable features: El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Fall. In March 1851 a local militia (known as the Mariposa Battalion) was dispatched to the area in search of Miwok people suspected of attacking a trading post. The group stumbled upon this view and became the first Euro-Americans to enter Yosemite Valley.
 
Erected by National Park Service.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Natural Features. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1851.
 
Location. 37° 43.296′ N, 119° 38.886′ W. Marker is in Yosemite National Park, California, in Mariposa County. Marker can be reached from Southside Drive, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Yosemite National Park CA 95389, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8
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other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. A Varied View (here, next to this marker); El Capitan (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Glaciers at the Gate (about 500 feet away); Disappearing Waterfalls (approx. 0.4 miles away); President Theodore Roosevelt & John Muir Meeting Site (approx. ¾ mile away); Rewards of Travel (approx. 1.6 miles away); The Ahwahneechee (approx. 3.3 miles away); James Hutchings (approx. 3½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Yosemite National Park.
 
Also see . . .  Mariposa Indian War, 1850-1851 - The California State Military Museum. On March 19, 1851, the Commissioners signed a treaty at Camp Fremont with six tribes. However, the Yosemites (Miwok) and Chowchillas (Yokut) were absent, so the campaign against them began on March 19. The companies of Boling and Dill moved against the Yosemites, and discovered their valley on March 27. However, the battalion was forced to march in 3- to 5-foot snow drifts and in rain and sleet and found few Indians. (Submitted on May 28, 2013, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.) 
 
A View Through Time Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, May 19, 2013
2. A View Through Time Marker
A View of the Valley and Bridalvail Falls image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, July 9, 2009
3. A View of the Valley and Bridalvail Falls
Half Dome image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, July 9, 2009
4. Half Dome
View from the Overlook image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, July 9, 2009
5. View from the Overlook
View from the Overlook image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, July 9, 2009
6. View from the Overlook
A View from the Valley image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, July 9, 2009
7. A View from the Valley
A View from the Valley image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, July 9, 2009
8. A View from the Valley
A View from the Valley image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, July 9, 2009
9. A View from the Valley
A View of Many of the Waterfalls Seen From the Valley image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, July 9, 2009
10. A View of Many of the Waterfalls Seen From the Valley
Valley from Artist's Point image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, June 3, 2015
11. Valley from Artist's Point
In this 1855 drawing, Valley from Artist’s Point, Thomas Ayres captured the open, park-like nature of Yosemite Valley as it looked in the mid-19th century.
Close-up of photo on marker
Lafayette Bunnell image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, June 3, 2015
12. Lafayette Bunnell
Lafayette Bunnell, a member of the Mariposa Battalion, gave names to many of the Valley’s prominent rock formations. He later wrote a book about his first impressions of Yosemite.
Close-up of photo on marker
View of The Yosemite image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Lafayette Bunnell, 1892
13. View of The Yosemite
Looking up the valley from a height of about 1,000 feet above the Merced River, and above sea level 5,000 feet, giving some faint idea of the beauty, grandeur and magnitude of this magnificent work of nature -- From Discovery of the Yosemite by Lafayette Bunnell.
A View Through Time image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, June 3, 2015
14. A View Through Time
The Yosemite Valley from the Tunnel Overlook.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 19, 2022. It was originally submitted on March 2, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 997 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos:   1. submitted on March 2, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland.   2. submitted on May 28, 2013, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.   3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on March 2, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland.   7, 8, 9, 10. submitted on March 3, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland.   11, 12, 13, 14. submitted on June 8, 2015, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024