Another of the iconic landmarks of Yosemite National Park, Half Dome is located at the east end of Yosemite Valley. We ventured up to the viewpoint on Glacier Point on our final evening for a sunset shot of this uniquely shaped peak. Half Dome is nearly as whole as it ever was. The impression from the valley floor that this is a round dome which has lost its northwest half is an illusion. From Glacier Point or from Washburn Point, Half Dome can be seen as a thin edge of rock oriented northeast-southwest, with its southeast side almost as steep as its northwest side except for the very top.
On March 28, 2009, a large rock slide of 1,500,000 cubic feet (42,000 m3) occurred off of Awhiyah Point. The slide happened at 5:26 a.m and damaged a large area under the dome. No one was injured but hundreds of trees were knocked down and a portion of the Mirror Lake trail was buried. The slide registered on seismographs as a 2.5 earthquake.
Recognize this logo? Own any of their outdoor clothing? Half Dome is the inspiration behind The North Face corporate logo.
Okay, enough of that, here’s the first photo.
This scene demanded a panoramic photo, so I obliged. The picture is composed from 8 images stitched together horizontally, taking in a range of close to 180 degrees. The sun is very low in the sky and striking only the peak of Half Dome and the mountains further north. You can see two waterfalls, Nevada Fall and Vernal Fall in the lower right hand corner. To give you a sense of scale Nevada Fall, the upper one is 594′ high and Vernal Fall, the lower one is 317′ high. I exercised greater patience for this shot than I had on the prior evening photographing Tunnel View. On this occasion I waited until the strong contrast between the shadow in the foreground and the lighter sky in the background had diminished. Worth the wait!
A few minutes later, after the sun had dropped below the mountains behind me, I took this next shot, a close-up view of Half Dome. By close-up I mean a distance of 2.5 miles (4.0 km)! I used a standard lens at a focal length of 70 mm to be able to take in most of the mountain vertically.
The lighting was excellent at this time, about 7:30 PM, providing a warm, rosy glow to the sky and the mountain. A nice recollection of Yosemite NP.