Yosemite Park

I was taken aback by the Dec. 13 article, "Breaking Law Is No Walk in Park," which suggested that Yosemite National Park rangers were overzealous in enforcing rules. I am sorry that some visitors to Yosemite have had negative experiences with park rangers and glad that the instances are being investigated. However, I feel strongly that the article misrepresents the behavior of Yosemite's rangers as a whole. For more than three years I worked in Yosemite National Park as an interpretive ranger.

1994 * Ansel Adams owns Yosemite Valley, photographically. His pictures have made this California landmark an international destination for tourists, many of whom, like the one seen here, are photo hobbyists trying to make Ansel Adamses of their own. The picture of this sightseer was made by a streetwise New York photographer who was prospecting for a different kind of gold, trying to stake his own claim on Yosemite.

Recent storms dropped 2 inches of rain on Yosemite National Park , bringing snow to elevations above 8,000 feet and reviving one of the park's best-loved features: its waterfalls. Yosemite and Bridal Veil falls , which thunder in spring when swelled with runoff from winter snow pack, dried up in mid-October. It has been one of the driest years on record for Yosemite and the driest winter since 2007, according to a news release. "After such a dry period, seeing the waterfalls flowing again is spectacular," Park Superintendent Don Neubacher said in a statement.

The National Park Service offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the armed assailant who shot and wounded ranger Kim Aufhauser in Yosemite National Park in mid-July. Aufhauser, a veteran ranger, was shot three times as he patrolled Tioga Pass Road in the Tuolumne Meadows, a popular backpacking spot in the high country about 35 miles from Yosemite Valley.

A 27-year-old French tourist who took a dip in a river in scenic Yosemite National Park was swept to his death over a 600-foot waterfall, the National Park Service said Wednesday. A friend of the victim told park rangers that the man went swimming Tuesday in a deep pool in the Merced River above the spectacular Nevada Falls. A swift current caught him and swept him over the edge of the waterfall, the witness said.

You may want to schedule your summer trek to Yosemite National Park earlier rather than later this summer because Yosemite Falls is expected to peak early, and access to Half Dome will be restricted starting in July. The waterfall was expected to reach its maximum flow this weekend or Memorial Day weekend, somewhat earlier than usual because of the warm spring and a snowpack that is about 5% below average in the park, spokeswoman Deb Schweizer said last week.

A man parachuting illegally off a rock formation in Yosemite National Park fell to his death, apparently because his chute was loaded improperly, a park official said. Jeff Christman, 42, of Arizona narrowly missed two rock climbers sleeping on a ledge of the 7,569-foot granite monolith called El Capitan, Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman said. "We think that his parachute was loaded backward, and when he deployed his chute he was spun around and sent into the side of the wall," Gediman said.

As officials at Yosemite National Park consider measures to reduce park traffic, a leading environmental group weighed in Tuesday with a plan that would require most visitors to take two buses to reach the park's scenic, waterfall-adorned valley. The Wilderness Society plan envisions three satellite parking lots outside the park where valley-destined visitors would board buses.

Question: Does the United Nations list the world's principal attractions to visit and, if so, what are some in the United States? Answer: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) issues a World Heritage List of what it considers the most significant cultural and natural properties. Among those in the United States are the Statue of Liberty, Philadelphia's Independence Hall, and Monticello, Jefferson's Virginia home.

To date, 10 people have fallen ill - and three have died - in the hantavirus outbreak at Yosemite National Park's “signature” cabins in Curry Village, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hantavirus only infects a handful of people in the U.S. each year, but when it strikes it is deadly about a third of the time, killing by shutting down the respiratory system.  Humans can catch the virus by getting bitten by infected deer mice, which carry the disease, or by inhaling virus particles that are shed in mouse feces or urine.  Hantavirus cannot pass from person to person.