Yosemite National Park’s Geologic History

The City of Merced is the gateway to Yosemite National Park. Today, let’s dig a little deeper into the geology of this wonderful park and its interesting development through the ages. Yosemite has a simple geologic history compared to many other mountain parks. Most all of the rock that you see in Yosemite is part of the Sierra Nevada Batholith, a large body of magma that intruded, crystallized, and lay buried as granitic material beneath a thick layer of metamorphic rock.

Geologists have estimated that the batholith was about six miles below the surface and it took about 100 million years for it to form. Inside Yosemite, dozens of plutons of different ages and composition were emplaced. Most of the rock in Yosemite was thrust up between 80 and 120 million years ago. Some were intruded between 150 and 210 million years ago.

The entire Yosemite region rose and has been extensively eroded. Over time, almost all of the overlying metamorphic rock was eroded away and the batholithic granite remained. The latest period of uplifting occurred around 10 million years ago which created the Sierra Nevada range, which has a distinct westward tilt, steep east face, and gentle western slopes.

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At Central Valley Events, quality is paramount in everything, including our volunteer activities. This principle motivates our marketing professionals to donate their time and talents to nonprofit organizations that increase people’s quality of life. So it comes as no surprise that the Central Valley Quality of Life Programs Draw Support. Here is a MicroCenter introduction video:

Two programs that have drawn special attention from our team are as follows:

• • MicroMentor: Entrepreneurs often need guidance on everything from hiring and bookkeeping to presenting their new business’ best image to consumers and building brand loyalty.

Small business owners and experienced professionals with the specialized skills and knowledge they need to reach the next level can connect through the website MicroMentor.org. Mentors and mentees set expectations, organize meeting schedules, and set and track goals between themselves to ensure both individuals benefit.

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As promised in June, here is some more information about Yosemite Nation Park. Merced is also referred to as The Gateway to Yosemite National Park. From here, it’s just s short drive to get to one of America’s most stunning places of natural beauty.

Yosemite National Park belongs to America’s most visited national parks. This is the place where Ansel Adams was shooting his famous photographs when he had fallen in love with the area’s awe-inspiring waterfalls, the magnificent landscape, and the beautiful steep cliffs.

The majority of the more than four 4 million visitors that visit Yosemite National Park each year only gets to see the area of Yosemite Valley but the impressive park offers so much more. People who love mountain climbing will love El Capitan, a nearly 3600 foot (some 1110 m) vertical wall and rafters will love the wild waters that the Merced River provides. The park also draws large crowds of hobby and professional wildlife and nature lovers and photographers.

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Merced is your gateway to one of America’s most impressive National parks, Yosemite. From Merced to Yosemite is a rather easy route along historical Highway 140 that was established in 1926. Travelers were first brought into Yosemite by this route that brought them, along the Merced River Canyon, directly into the valley floor from where you can enjoy spectacular views of the area’s beautiful geology!

Yosemite National Park is world-famous for its giant sequoia trees, granite cliffs, and spectacular waterfalls. Yosemite Park is centrally located in California, just 150 miles east of San Francisco in the wild and beautiful high Sierras.

Yosemite National Park was established in 1890 and was designated a World Heritage Site in 1984. Within the park’s 1,200 square miles are thousands of lakes, two federally designated wild and scenic rivers, 350 miles of roads, and 800 miles of hiking trails.

While Yosemite National Park is known mostly for the beautiful scenery, it is also a place rich in biodiversity. Elevations range from 2,000 feet to more than 13,000 feet which represents the major life zones.

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About an hour’s drive southeast of Merced, you can find the city of Fresno where in October, the annual Fair is held. The annual Big Fresno Fair is Central Valley’s largest event that attracts over half a million visitors each year in October. It is a 2-week event (October 2 until 14) that features livestock shows, exhibits, horse racing, musical and other cultural entertainment, and interesting educational programs, just to mention a few of the activities.

The Fair is providing a link between rural and urban California and serves as an important tool in educating the residents of Central Valley about the rich agricultural history and the importance of the agricultural industry in the area.

The Fair aims to highlight the often not understood vastness and importance of this commercial activity for the region, for California, and for the entire United States. This year is the 136th Big Fresno Fair that runs in East Central Fresno until October 14th. It truly is one of the area’s biggest events of the year!
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Castle Air Museum

Castle Air Museum in Atwater represents history in a way the whole family can share.  While there is nothing glamorous about war, our majestic warbirds are awe-inspiring reminders of how fragile our freedom can be and how men and women have stepped forward when that freedom was threatened.

To stand under the wing of a B-17 Flying Fortress is an incredible experience.  You can imagine the sky around the bomber filled with enemy fighters.  And yet, somehow, the sturdy flying Fortress survives the onslaught and continues her mission.

Then there’s the B-25, similar to the planes Jimmy Doolittle led off the Carrier Hornet during this country’s first desperate attempt to bomb Tokyo.  You’ll see the B-24 Liberator, the plane that was chosen of the 2400 mile round trip flight to bomb the Ploesti oil fields in 1943.  The B-29 is here too… the bomber that ended World War II in the Pacific.

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Merced-Bike City-10 Years Back-Tour of California

In 2009, Merced was one of the cities for the 2009 world-class Tour of California that came to the city. On February 2009, the Tour, including the hero of those days, Lance Armstrong, raced through Merced. A decade ago, the Tour of California was really among the country’s premier cycling events that drew the best cyclists from all around the world to the 9-day race across California.

In 2009, Merced became “Bike City USA”

In February 2009, Merced became “Bike City USA” when it hosted three world-class cycling events. The cycling trifecta attracted the best riders from around the globe, along with ardent fans and spectators who enjoy the fast-paced sport.

It all started on Wednesday, February 18, when the Tour of California rolled into town. Starring 144 of the globe’s best racers, Merced was the fourth stage of the nine-day event.

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My feet thrust in the air, I stared at the needle sticking out of my foot framed against a wall and the backdrop of Highway 140 from Merced to Yosemite while a woman in the next room loudly whispered about her venereal disease. I tried to shut it out by thinking about my upcoming visit to Yosemite National Park and my creative projects. Any of them. Obscure ones. About a public domain comic book idea. About the newest iPhone app I’m working on with my publisher. About my blog.

My thoughts invariably shifted to thinking about my last few weeks at work, how long it would take to pull off these projects, and if I’d sustain a living from them afterward. Sustain. Hmmm… Reminds me of that episode of The Judge Hatchett Show I worked on as a video editor where she sustained a motion…

I snap to and remember what my acupuncturist said. “Quiet down your mind, Carlen.” And backed that sentiment up by sticking another needle between my eyes. I looked up at the needle, of what I could see of it, and sighed. Quiet. My. Mind. It was my very first foray into acupuncture, and despite my foot needle hurting more than I anticipated when she stuck it in (and hearing someone whispering about venereal diseases), I felt calm. Centered. And the restlessness I tend to feel was slipping away. It was powerful.

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Before the advent of online news and entertainment, advertising and its cousin, public relations, were like pornography: You generally knew it when you saw it. But with the ever-increasing torrent of Internet “content” splashed across the Web, much of it not only corporate-sponsored but corporate-created, sussing the actual message from this medium gets pretty tricky. So how do you spot Native Advertising?

Check out also this John Oliver video:

This trend toward dressing (some would say disguising) advertising and public relations as news is driven by economics. A standard press release costs only a few hundred dollars to compose and distribute electronically, making the Net a low-cost distribution channel.

Content-hungry publishers, in turn, can generate fresh text fast and cheap by just forwarding the corporate handouts. ScreamingMedia, ad guru Jay Chiat’s content consulting company, estimates that companies with a significant online presence could spend as much as $500,000 per month generating their own content. The price of news sites for most PR content? Free.

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