Panoramic View of Yosemite Valley from Glacier Point Overlook

Yosemite National Park

Historic Stereographs of Yosemite by C. E. Watkins (Carleton Emmons Watkins), 1829-1916.

This is a gallery of 101 historic stereo photographs (originally sold as stereograph cards) taken by Carleton E. Watkins beginning in the 1860s of the Yosemite National Park area. In the post Civil War era up until about World War 1 (when moving pictures appeared), stereograph photography was very popular. The original photography is preserved in the US Library of Congress, Photoarchive collections.

Click here to see a thumbnail gallery.

The photography is presented here as both "stereograph pairs" (scans of original sterographs) and as anagphyphs (edited in PhotoShop to be viewed with red and cyan 3D viewing glasses.

Stereo showing reflection of mountains on a lake.

Stereo Pairs (Gallery) - original sterograph images.
Click here to see a thumbnail gallery.
Click on images for a larger view.

Anaglyph showing reflection of mountains on a lake.

Converted to Anaglyphs (requires red & cyan 3D glasses to get 3-dimensional effects)
Click here to see a thumbnail gallery.

Click on any large image and you will move onto the next image of the "tour."

Also check out historic stereo photography (also as anaglyphs) of:
John Wesley Powell's 1871-2 exploration of the Colorado River canyons
Modern and Historic 3D Photography of Yellowstone National Park
American Indians of the Southwest, Surveys of the West 1871-1875

Select Recent Pictures of Yosemite National Park

Yosemite Valley is among the most famous glaciated landscapes in North America. Pleistocene glaciers scoured the granitic core of the Sierra Nevada Range creating the amazingly scenic hanging valleys (with waterfalls), the high cliffs and U-shaped valleys, and much more. The relatively moderate climate of the western Sierra foothills is ideal for the famous Giant Seqouia trees, among the largest living trees on the planet.

Click on images for a larger view.

Tunnel View Overlook of Yosemite Valley in morning light.	Tunnel View Overlook of Yosemite Valley in afternoon light.	View of U-shaped Tenaya Valley from Glacier Point.	View of Half Dome from Glacier Point.
View of the High Sierra country east of Glacier Point.	Sediment-filled Mirror Lake along Tenaya Creek.	View of the Merced River near Curry Village.	Large boulder along bike path near Curry Village.
Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls (Late September flow, 2023)	El Capitan cliffs with talus slope in foreground.	Glaciated hanging valley with Sentinal Falls.	Zoom view of Vernal Falls from Washburn Point.
Upper and Lower Yosemite Fall seen from a gap in the forest.	Meadow along the Merced River in Yosemite Valley.	Sequoias: "The Bachelor and Three Graces" in Mariposa Grove.	Barren roots of a fallen giant sequoia tree.
Giant sequoia tree trunks in the Mariposa Grove.	Wide-angel view of a giant sequoia in the Mariposa Grove.	Fire-scortched stump are of a giant sequoia in the Mariposa Grove.	Giant Grizzly, one of the largest and oldest sequoias in the Mariposa Grove.

Geologic Map and Information about Yosemite National Park

Click on the map or click on "next image" to see a series of park images.

Click here to see tours of other national parks.

Most of the pictures on this website were taken in the vicinity of Yosemite Valley. for a map of the features and trails in the park, click here.

Click here to learn more about Yosemite National Park (National Park Service website: http://www.nps.gov/yose).

National Park Service, Geologic Resources Division, Yosemite Geology: https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/nature/geology.htm

All the original Carleton E. Watkins photography is available in various scanned image formats on the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/catalog.html.

Learn more about the photography from the NPS website: Yosemite History: Carleton E. Watkins, photographer
http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/watkins/

Huber, N. K., Bateman, P. C., and Wahrhaftig, C., 2003, Geologic Map of Yosemite National Park and Vicinity, California: a digital database: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series I-1874. Available on-line at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i1874/.

Huber, 1987, The Geologic Story of Yosemite Valley: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1595, 64 p.
http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/b/b1595. or click here: The Geologic Story of Yosemite Valley

Calkins, F. C., 1985, Bedrock geologic map of Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Map (map and 7 page pamphlet): http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/i/i1639.

This website contains images produced from stereo photo pairs that were manipulated into anaglyphs (3-D images). You will need red-and-cyan stereo viewing glasses to get the 3-D visual effects.

This page is <https://gotbooks.miracosta.edu/gonp/yose/>
Last modified 9/19/2023