Merced River

Warmer temperatures at Yosemite National Park that have begun to melt the area's huge snow pack caused the Merced River to hit flood stage in Yosemite Valley early Wednesday, according to data from the National Weather Service . But the minor flooding, which could affect some walkways, isn't expected to affect roads in the valley. The weather service had issued a flood warning Tuesday for the river at Pohono Bridge, a spot in the valley where visitors typically stop to snap pictures.

The majestic landscape of Yosemite National Park - carved out of granite and shaped by powerful natural forces over the eons - is timeless and untouchable. Other attractions in the park … not so much. Some of Yosemite's much-loved amenities, including swimming pools, bike, horse and raft rentals, and an ice skating rink, would be jettisoned under a plan to restore the Merced River corridor to a more natural state. The Merced Wild and Scenic River Plan would reconfigure much of the Yosemite Valley by removing or relocating familiar concessions.

Search teams have recovered the body of a Huntington Beach woman who drowned more than three weeks ago when she fell into Yosemite Valley's Merced River while taking pictures. The body of Michelle Boettcher, 23, was found in the river Monday evening about 100 yards downstream from the point where she fell on July 5, said Jeni Weber, Yosemite National Park Service spokeswoman.

Yosemite Valley would have more camp sites and parking spaces - and the number of daily visitors would not be reduced - under a National Park Service plan intended to ease congestion in one of the country's most scenic spots. The proposal is the agency's third attempt to produce a legally acceptable management plan for the Merced River and the ever popular valley that it flows through. Environmental groups have twice sued the agency, winning court orders that compelled the park service to draw up new blueprints.

Adding another twist in the fight over Yosemite's future, a U.S. appeals court delivered a victory Monday to a pair of environmental groups pressing for tighter preservation of the Merced River. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said park planners failed to establish proper visitor limits to ensure the meandering river was not harmed by overuse.

A federal judge rejected a legal bid that could have undercut more than half a dozen projects meant to reshape Yosemite National Park's popular mile-wide valley, officials announced Monday. Judge Anthony Ishii in Fresno rejected an attempt by two environmental groups to toss out preservation plans for the Merced River, the scenic tributary that meanders through the heart of Yosemite Valley.

Ending a lengthy legal battle with environmentalists, the federal government agreed Wednesday to halt all commercial development in Yosemite National Park's most popular area and to consider limiting access to its wilderness. The settlement was reached by the National Park Service and two small environmental groups that sued the federal government in 2000. The groups charged that the park's $442-million plan to move campgrounds and upgrade hotel rooms in Yosemite Valley would jeopardize the Merced River, a federally protected waterway that flows beside famous granite monoliths and dramatic waterfalls.

The majestic landscape of Yosemite National Park - carved out of granite and shaped by powerful natural forces over the eons - is timeless and untouchable. Other attractions in the park … not so much. Some of Yosemite's much-loved amenities, including swimming pools, bike, horse and raft rentals, and an ice skating rink, would be jettisoned under a plan to restore the Merced River corridor to a more natural state. The Merced Wild and Scenic River Plan would reconfigure much of the Yosemite Valley by removing or relocating familiar concessions.

A federal district court judge has rejected Yosemite National Park's revised management plan for the Merced River -- a decision that park officials warned Thursday might block numerous construction projects in the park's popular valley. Judge Anthony Ishii in Fresno concluded that the park violated the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and failed to adequately follow federal environmental rules in its river protection plan.

Search-and-rescue teams have spent days scouring the banks of the Merced River in Yosemite National Park after three people were swept away over Vernal Fall, but it could be weeks — even months — before the victims are found, park officials said. Treacherous river conditions caused by a larger-than-normal snow pack this winter have so far limited the search to foot patrols. "There's so much water and so much churning and so much power behind that water that it would just be completely unsafe to insert park rangers and search-and-rescue divers into the water," said park spokeswoman Kari Cobb.

A second day of searching showed no sign of the 6-year-old boy swept down the Merced River in Yosemite National Park, one of two brothers caught in a deadly current during a family hike along the park's most popular trail. The boy's 10-year-old brother was pulled from the water shortly after the two were swept away after wading in a rough area of the river, according to park rangers. Despite resuscitation efforts by another park visitor and rangers, he was pronounced dead. The brothers, who were visiting the park Wednesday with extended family members from Southern California, were about a mile into their hike when they decided to cool off in the river, park spokesman Scott Gediman said.

The river rafting season in California has been very up and down so far this summer. Outfitters are closing the season on some natural-flow rivers in the Sierra earlier than expected because of the state's drier-than-usual year while rivers relying on reservoir water will continue to cash in on last year's big snowpack. Trips wrap up this week on the Merced River south of Yosemite National Park and the Kings River, east of Fresno, this week because of low water flow, according to Bob Ferguson of Zephyr Whitewater Expeditions . The season for these rivers typically lasts until the Fourth of July.

For many, the allure of Yosemite National Park isn't just its jaw-dropping vistas but the exhilaration of edging right up to a rushing river, cascading waterfall or towering granite face. Here in the glacier-carved Yosemite Valley, the most striking beauty is often found on the most dangerous precipices, and not everyone heeds the park's safety warnings. Hikers take unusual risks to get that perfect snapshot and families swim in pools that swirl just above raging falls. Invariably, some get hurt, go missing or die. Photos: Vernal Fall at Yosemite National Park This summer, the number of deaths at the park had jumped to 14 by the end of July, twice the average at that point in the year, sparking a debate about what can be done to improve safety.

The body of one of three hikers swept over Vernal Fall in Yosemite National Park has been recovered by park rangers and a search-and-rescue team, authorities said Saturday. Hormiz David's body was found about 1 p.m. Friday in the Merced River about 240 feet from the base of 317-foot-high Vernal Fall, where the 22-year-old Modesto man slipped over the edge with two friends July 19. Still missing are Ramina Badal, 21, of Manteca and Ninos Yacoub, 27, of Turlock. The trio were with a church group hiking the park's popular Mist Trail to the top of the waterfall.

To be Assyrian is to go to church. There is little distinction between religion and culture in a people who define themselves as the earliest Christians. So when this Central California outpost of a dwindling ethnic minority lost three promising young people to powerful Vernal Fall in Yosemite National Park on Tuesday, its residents went to their churches. On Wednesday, the father of 21-year-old victim Ramina Badal made his way down the aisles of St. George's Church in Ceres, though he could barely stand, leaning on those around him for every step.

Search-and-rescue teams have spent days scouring the banks of the Merced River in Yosemite National Park after three people were swept away over Vernal Fall, but it could be weeks — even months — before the victims are found, park officials said. Treacherous river conditions caused by a larger-than-normal snow pack this winter have so far limited the search to foot patrols. "There's so much water and so much churning and so much power behind that water that it would just be completely unsafe to insert park rangers and search-and-rescue divers into the water," said park spokeswoman Kari Cobb.

A federal judge has upheld a park service plan for managing the Merced River corridor in Yosemite National Park, removing a potential roadblock to a number of upcoming restoration projects. Ruling in a two-year-old lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii rejected claims that the plan did not adequately protect the river corridor and allowed harmful development. The case had split environmental groups, which lined up on both sides of the lawsuit. It was filed against the U.S.

To be Assyrian is to go to church. There is little distinction between religion and culture in a people who define themselves as the earliest Christians. So when this Central California outpost of a dwindling ethnic minority lost three promising young people to powerful Vernal Fall in Yosemite National Park on Tuesday, its residents went to their churches. On Wednesday, the father of 21-year-old victim Ramina Badal made his way down the aisles of St. George's Church in Ceres, though he could barely stand, leaning on those around him for every step.

The water at Yosemite National Park may be beautiful as it tumbles and roars out of the mountains, crystal snowmelt in a granite bed. But Jake Bibee remembers what he told his friend: "You have to respect the water. " Bibee, a 28-year-old carpenter who grew up in Angels Camp, northwest of the park, had brought Amanda Lee, a visitor from Missouri, to the top of Vernal Fall on Tuesday -- her first visit to Yosemite, but the latest of many for him. They were standing behind a metal barricade, peering at the cascade.

Warmer temperatures at Yosemite National Park that have begun to melt the area's huge snow pack caused the Merced River to hit flood stage in Yosemite Valley early Wednesday, according to data from the National Weather Service . But the minor flooding, which could affect some walkways, isn't expected to affect roads in the valley. The weather service had issued a flood warning Tuesday for the river at Pohono Bridge, a spot in the valley where visitors typically stop to snap pictures.