Sunset rays strike El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, reflected in the Merced River
Tag: El Capitan
El Capitan is one of the most well-known landmarks in Yosemite Valley, California. The vertical, granite walls stand 3,600 feet (1,100 m) above the valley floor, on its western end. Its elevation is 7,569 feet (2,307 m) above sea level.
The Ahwahneechees, who were the original inhabitants of Yosemite Valley, called the mountain Totoockanula (Tot-oo-ck’an-ula), meaning “rock chief” or “rock father”. Other interpretations of the origin of the name include, for example, “measuring worm stone”. This refers to the legend of the measuring worm that rescued two bear cubs from the summit. (Please see this legend on my photograph page, in the Yosemite Gallery).
The first recorded sighting of this landmark by white settlers was in 1851. Members of the Mariposa Battalion invaded Yosemite Valley in pursuit of the Ahwahneechees during the Mariposa Indian War. This was at the time of the California Gold Rush.
The original English name was “Crane Mountain” because sandhill cranes used to enter the valley over it. It was Lafayette Bunnell, a member of the Battalion, who named it El Capitan (the Chief). This name was given in recognition of the original Indian name. Bunnell records:
I went, and as the Indian (Chief Tenaya of the Ahwahneechees) reached a point a little above and some distance out from the cliff, he triumphantly pointed to the perfect image of a man’s head and face, with side-whiskers, and with an expression of the sturdy English type, and asked, “Does he not look like Tote-ack-ah-noo-la?”. The “Rock Chief,” or “Captain,” was again Sandino’s interpretation of the word while viewing the likeness.
The true story of Chief Tenaya and his people is told in the Native American historical fiction, Great Spirit of Yosemite: The Story of Chief Tenaya.
A sunset view of Valley View, Yosemite Valley, or Ahwahnee as known by the original inhabitants of Yosemite Valley. Ahwahnee is believed to mean “Gaping Mouth”