As Yosemite Park Turns 150, Charms And Challenges Endure

30 Jun As Yosemite Park Turns 150, Charms And Challenges Endure

Here are several excerpts from an article (including a podcast) by Sasha Khokha, the California Report Central Valley Bureau Chief at KQED in San Francisco, about Yosemite Park turning 150:

Yosemite National Park, in California’s Sierra Nevada, is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the law that preserved it — and planted the seeds for the National Park system. At the same time, the park faces the challenge of protecting the natural wonders from their own popularity.

Since President Abraham Lincoln signed the 1864 law that protected this land, visitors have been enjoying the park’s spectacular features, from Half Dome to the giant sequoia grove — and the moonbow at Yosemite Falls.

The moonbow is like a rainbow, but at night. Some photographers time their visits to the park so they can catch a glimpse of this rare phenomenon, which is only visible when the moonlight catches the mist at the waterfall.

Four million people visit the park each year. Photographer Mark Zborowski, who’s here to capture the moonbow, is among them.

Photography has been key to Yosemite’s allure. Historians think it may have helped convince Lincoln to preserve a place he’d never visited.

Click here to Continue Reading www.npr.org