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posted by martyb on Friday September 09 2016, @09:37AM   Printer-friendly
from the Yosemite-Sam-would-be-pleased dept.

Yosemite National Park is expanding:

Yosemite National Park in California is to gain a 400-acre addition, its largest expansion in nearly 70 years. Ackerson Meadow features wetlands and rolling hills that are home to endangered wildlife, park officials quoted by AP news agency said. The land, on Yosemite's western boundary, was bought for the park by conservation group the Trust for Public Land for $2.3m (£1.7m).

Yosemite National Park covers about 1,200 sq miles of mountainous scenery. It attracts millions of visitors every year and celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2015. The new addition, which was traditionally used for logging and grazing cattle, will be preserved as habitat for wildlife including the endangered great grey owl, the largest owl in North America, the officials said.


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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by Phoenix666 on Friday September 09 2016, @12:48PM

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday September 09 2016, @12:48PM (#399583) Journal

    We went there this summer and for anyone who hasn't been, I'd recommend skipping the famous valley with El Capitan and Half Dome. The drive is bumper to bumper traffic and there's no place to park and enjoy the trails. You're much better off taking Route 120 that crosses the northern third of the park. The scenery is more spectacular than the valley, the mountains more dramatic, and there are far fewer people. As a bonus, Mono Lake is right outside the Eastern entrance, and that's worth a visit too. It's like the Dead Sea, many times saltier than the ocean so you can float quite easily. The fossilized hydrothermal vents along the shore form a fairy landscape that's fun to walk through.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 09 2016, @07:42PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 09 2016, @07:42PM (#399764)

    Those are caused by chemical reactions kicked off by microorganisms. They would be underwater, generally touching the water surface, except that Los Angeles diverted incoming streams and thus reduced the level of the lake.

    If you take the canoe tour, they'll show you one of those things that is currently forming. It's at water level of course, with little gas bubbles coming up.

  • (Score: 2) by Hawkwind on Friday September 09 2016, @10:09PM

    by Hawkwind (3531) on Friday September 09 2016, @10:09PM (#399810)

    In the last 30 years the one time I've visited during the summer I hiked in, but I have heard traffic can be weird. It's a great place for all hiking/climbing skill levels, though. And beautiful!

    Good point about visiting the east side. If you have a chance to hike in to the high country go for it, absolutely amazing.