A View Through Time

Miwok people, who called themselves Ahwahneechee, lived in Yosemite Valley for thousands of years and regularly burned the Valley’s meadows and oak woodlands, a traditional practice that contributed to the open landscape first seen by the Mariposa Battalion. Lafayette Bunnell wrote in 1880 that “The whole valley had the appearance of park-like grounds, with trees, shrubbery, flowers and lawns.” From this viewpoint into Yosemite Valley, three remarkable features are visible: El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Fall. In March 1851 a local militia known as the Mariposa Battalion was dispatched to the area in search of Miwok people suspected of attacking a trading post, and the group stumbled upon this view and became the first Euro-Americans to enter Yosemite Valley.

California · United States