Yosemite Falls, California

Yosemite Falls

Yosemite Falls is a three – tiered 739 m situated in Yosemite   national Park, California. If the three tiers are considered as a hole, Yosemite Falls is the highest   waterfall   in North America and the 5^th  high in the world. The three tiers include the Upper Fall 435 m, Middle Cascades 205 m and Lower  Falls    97  m.

Section of Yosemite Falls.   Upper Yosemite

Water drops 435 m   at the Upper Falls, which means that even individually, it would place among the top 20 highest waterfalls in the world. Unlike the Lower Falls, the Upper Falls are not easy to access. In fact reaching the Upper falls requires   taking   11.5 km round trip with 822 m elevation gain. The majority of the route is exposed to sun, and therefore it is recommended to start early in order to avoid the midday heat.

Middle Cascades

The Middle Cascades are located between the Upper and Lower Falls and can not be seen from the majority of vantage points.  In a series of five smaller cascades water descends a total of 205 m.

Lower Falls

At the Lower Falls water descends 97 m almost twice the drop of Niagara Falls. It is the easiest section to access, with only a short walk from the  Yosemite Lodge to the base of the falls required. If visiting in spring, then be aware that the viewing area will receive a lot of spray from the falls. However by the middle of summer the spray is replaced by calm, cold air and possibly a little mist.

When is the best time of year to visit Yosemite falls

Timing is key; there is no guarantee that the Yosemite falls will actually be falling as the waterfall is fed almost entirely by snow  melt. Flow reaches its peak in may and early June, often reaching 30.4 m per second, though typically slows dramatically in mid – summer and completely dries up by August. Yosemite Falls  once again begins to  flow in winter but only enough to build a 45 – 91 m “ice cone”  formed from frozen mist and fallen blocks of ice, at the base of  the Upper Falls. If you visit the fallsss at night in April and May when thereis a full moon, spray from the waterfall creates spectacular glistening.