When the well-known naturalist and environmentalist, John Muir finally settled in San Francisco, he immediately left for a week-long visit to Yosemite, a place he had only read about. He was overwhelmed with what he saw and he led a successful movement to establish this large national park encompassing not just the valley, but surrounding mountains and forests as well—paving the way for the United States national park system. It was because of Muir that many National Parks were left untouched, such as Yosemite Valley National Park. In 1903 Muir took one of the most significant camping tripswith, then president, Theodore Roosevelt.This trip persuaded Roosevelt to return “Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove to federal protection as part of Yosemite National Park”. Yosemite National Park is spanning across the eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera and counties in the central eastern portion of the U.S. state of California. It also reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain.
Table of Contents:
The Yosemite
Our National Parks
Features of the Proposed Yosemite National Park
A Rival of the Yosemite
The Treasures of the Yosemite
Yosemite Glaciers
Yosemite in Winter
Yosemite in Spring
John Muir (1838–1914) 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.
