Watch a Yosemite rockfall!

In a follow-up of sorts to my last post, a visit to Yosemite resulted in me changing my college major to geology. Of course, after working in Yosemite for a few years, my interest in geology waned as my interest in bears grew. Yosemite can move your interests.

Anyway, for those who haven’t seen it, watch this nine-minute video about rockfalls in Yosemite (part of the Yosemite Nature Notes video podcast). It includes some amazing footage of the 2009 rockfall behind The Ahwahnee. (This footage is so fascinating, I’ve watched it probably a few dozen times—I guess my interest in geology hasn’t completely faded!)

If you liked that one, check out the other great episodes.

 

Yosemite Chaos

Yosemite is an exciting place to work… just being here is exciting. The day-to-day work is often exciting, as well. But, then, often (but not always) in summer, chaos ensues as something big happens… and it’s not uncommon for several big things to happen simultaneously, as was the case today.

Multiple rockfalls fell just behind The Ahwawhnee, with rocks landing in the parking lot. The hotel was evacuated. I could clearly hear the rockfall from my office, a mile or so away. (More information…).

Meanwhile, a prescribed burn near Foresta unexpectedly jumped the fire lines. Yosemite has been doing prescribed burns for almost 40 years and I’m not sure how often this has happened before (or if it has ever happened before). Fire managers are careful, so it’ll be interesting to see what happened. In any case, the Big Oak Flat Road is closed, meaning travel between Crane Flat/Big Oak Flat/Tuolumne Meadows and Yosemite Valley isn’t possible (without a long detour). (You can find more information on the NPS website, although once this incident is over, this link won’t have information about this fire.)

Big Meadow (Foresta) Fire

Big Meadow (Foresta) fire later at night