Yosemite Museum
Encyclopedia
Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...
in Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Founded in 1926 through the efforts of Ansel Franklin Hall
Ansel Franklin Hall
Ansel F. Hall was an American naturalist. He was the first Chief Naturalist and first Chief Forester of the United States National Park Service.-Early career:...
, the museum's displays focus on the heritage and culture of the Ahwaneechee people who lived in the valley. Exhibits include historic photographs, baskets, tools, articles of clothing, and life-size dioramas.
Behind the museum is a reconstructed outdoor "Indian Village of Ahwahnee".
The adjacent Yosemite Valley Visitor Center features exhibits about the park's geology, wildlife, Native American and other settlers, John Muir
John Muir
John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...
, and park history.