Main entry:

Matthes, François, 1874-1948.

Title & Author:

The incomparable valley : a geologic interpretation of the Yosemite / by François E. Matthes ; edited by Fritiof Fryxell.

Publication:

Berkeley ; Los Angeles : University of California Press, 1950.

Description:

xiii, [35], 33-160 pages : illustrations, maps ; 26 cm

Notes:
"Including 24 photographs by Ansel Adams"--Jacket.
The Sierra Nevada : General account: broad relationships of the range ; Neighboring lowlands, climatic conditions, life zones ; The gentle west slope ; The Sierra Nevada fault block ; Colossal proportions of the range ; The High Sierra ; The great east front ; Origin of the fault block ; Streams and canyons of the range ; Landscapes as related to rock types ; Role of jointing in determining the landforms ; Origin of the High Sierra crests ; Glaciers of the Ice Age ; The existing glaciers ; Chronological summary, geological history of the range -- The Yosemite region and its High Sierra : Setting of the Yosemite Valley ; The Yosemite upland and its hanging valleys ; Tenaya Canyon ; Little Yosemite Valley ; The High Sierra above the Yosemite region ; Tenaya Basin ; Tuolumne Basin and its meadows ; Glaciers of the higher peaks -- Yosemite Valley : Yosemite: “the Incomparable Valley” ; Historical résumé ; Other “yosemites” of the Sierra Nevada ; Depth and form of the Yosemite Valley ; Features of the valley walls ; Notable monoliths and other rock forms ; The granite domes ; Half Dome ; Clouds rest and the panorama of the High Sierra -- Yosemite through the ages : Introduction: evolution of the Sierra landscape ; Characters recording the geologic story ; Establishment of the Merced’s course in early Tertiary time ; The broad-valley stage of late Miocene time ; The mountain-valley stage of late Pliocene time ; The canyon stage before oncoming of the Ice Age ; Remodeling of the landscape by glaciers ; Glacial records: reconstructing the ancient glaciers ; Complex nature of the Ice Age ; Glacier Point glacial stage ; El Portal glacial stage ; Wisconsin glacial stage ; Changes wrought by the ice -- The sculpturing of the walls : Supreme importance of the jointing ; Sentinel Rock, an illustration of form conditioned by structure ; Forms determined by oblique and vertical master joints ; Forms controlled by intersecting joints ; Features in the cliffs about Yosemite Falls ; Recesses and gulches in the valley walls -- The domes : Domes, “the most baffling features of the Yosemite landscape” ; An early misconception ; Dome formation through exfoliation of massive granite ; The ultimate cause of exfoliation ; Stages in dome formation: an example ; The rate of exfoliation ; Individuality of the various domes ; Half Dome, most revealing of Yosemite’s domes ; Royal Arches, an example of recessed arches produced by exfoliation ; Concave exfoliation ; Domes of the future -- The marks of time : Nature of postglacial changes ; Obliteration of the glacial lakes ; Ancient Lake Yosemite ; The floor of Yosemite Valley ; Formation of Mirror Lake ; Dismantling of the valley walls: the talus slopes ; Earthquakes as a cause of rock falls ; Snow avalanches and their tracks ; Disintegration of the granite ; The “earthquake boulders” ; Torrent fans and channels ; “Weather pits” and stream potholes -- Waterfalls : Spectacular character of the waterfalls ; Falls that descend from steps in the canyon floors ; Vernal Fall ; Nevada Fall ; Falls associated with the cliffs of the valley walls ; Bridalveil Fall ; Ribbon Fall ; Yosemite Falls ; Other, minor falls of Yosemite Valley ; Ribbon cascades of the Little Yosemite Valley ; Falls and cascades of Tenaya Canyon ; Noteworthy waterfalls in other sections of the Sierra Nevada ; The highest waterfalls in the world: a comparison -- The Little Ice Age of historic times : Existing glaciers of the Sierra Nevada ; The glaciers as related to topography and snowfall ; The largest and best known of the glaciers ; Proof that the Sierra glaciers are “living” ; The assumption that the glaciers are relics of glacial times ; Climatic fluctuations during postglacial times ; The historic record of glacial oscillations ; The Sierra glaciers: actually a new generation of ice bodies ; Evidence indicating that the existing glaciers have been “reborn” ; How old are the glaciers of our times? ; Age of glaciers in other western mountains ; The “little ice age”.

ISBN:

0520008278
9780520008274

Subject:

Yosemite National Park.
Geology California Yosemite Valley.
Géologie Californie Yosemite, Vallée de.
Geology
Geologie
Yosemite Valley (Calif.) Pictorial works.
Yosemite, Vallée de (Calif.) Ouvrages illustrés.
California Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley

Form/genre:

Pictorial works

Added entries:

Fryxell, Fritiof, 1900-1986, editor.
Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984, photographer.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 58630
Call No.: ID PLB; ID:90-B6958
Status: Available