Hetch Hetchy Valley Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Hetch Hetchy Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in California. It is currently completely flooded by O'Shaughnessy Dam, forming the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. The Tuolumne River fills the reservoir.
The Hetch Hetchy Road drops into the valley at the O'Shaughnessy Dam, but all points east of there are roadless, and accessible only to hikers and equestrians.
| Table of contents |
|
2 Geology 3 Related topics 4 External links |
History
The valley was called 'Hetch Hetchy' as early as the 1860s. The name means either 'acorns' or 'edible seeds' in the Native American Miwok language [1]. Acorns are indeed available in the valley, but rare elsewhere in the high country.
In 1903, San Francisco applied to the United States Department of the Interior to gain water rights to Hetch Hetchy. This provoked a 10-year environmental struggle with the Sierra Club. The environmentalist John Muir observed:
- Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well dam for water-tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.
Recent history of the dam and reservoir can be found in the O'Shaughnessy Dam article.
Geology
Like Yosemite Valley, Hetch Hetchy was also sculpted by glaciers as recent as 10,000 years ago. The more recent glacier there was larger than the one in the paleo-Yosemite Valley. However, today the Hetch Hetchy area is drier.
On the upper portion of the valley beyond the reservoir there is evidence of relatively young lava flows. One recent flow formed the Little Devils Postpile which, as he name suggests, is a smaller version of the Devils Postpile near Mammoth Lakes to the southeast. Both formations are great examples of columnar jointing, a phenomenon that results from contraction of basaltic lava as it cools (forming hexagonal columns).
This is an Article on Hetch Hetchy Valley. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Hetch Hetchy Valley Related topics
External links