At the beginning of summer, we toured a geologic landform in the central Sierra Nevada, California called Yosemite National Park. History has it that in 1984, the Yosemite National Park became internationally known for its remarkable granite cliffs, waterfalls, streams, and groves. It sits on 750,000 acres of land that surrounds itself with numerous amounts and mile-stretched lakes, ponds, streams, trails, and roads. Before the scenic tour began, we had already noticed the asymmetric rocks and the greenery surrounding it from afar. The tour guide spoke about how the rocks sit in a slope and extend about 13,000 feet along the Yosemite area. It had been formed by Earth’s crust as it broke, lifted upward, and tilted westward. The dominated igneous rock that surrounds the Yosemite area is granite. Granite was formed deep within the Earth by molten rock materials that were exposed by the erosion of overlying rocks. The durability of it was able to sustain cliffs, valleys, and high peaked areas. Its different appearances were caused by multiple intrusions of molten rocks and other granite rocks over the time of more than 100 million years. Granite was found sustainable, due to its response to weathers. Other igneous rocks were found but considered as plutonic. Plutonic rocks were formed after the molten rocks cool and solidify deep underground. The appearances were formed by the intrusion of older rocks beneath Earth’s surface over the time of 130 million years. As the tour came to an end, we left home with the knowledge of the formation of Yosemite, and yearning to take on other Yosemite attractions.
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| The formation of granite from Half Dome of Yosemite. |
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Different compositions and colors of granite in El Capitan of Yosemite.
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