Tenaya Lake was named in honour of Chief Tenaya and his people, the Ahwahneechees after their capture at this location during the Mariposa War of 1850/51
Tag: Tenaya Lake
Tenaya Lake is one of the most beautiful alpine lakes in the high country of Yosemite National Park. It is sometimes referred to as the “Jewel of the High Country”. At an elevation of 8,150 feet (2,484 m), it is about I mile (1.6km) long and bordered by spectacular granite domes and peaks. There are remnants of lodgepole pines that can be seen poking up through the surface of the lake. These remnants are from 600 to 1,000 years old! Where there are now 26 to 60 feet (8 to 18 m) of water, it was dry land at one time. This was at a time of severe droughts in the southwestern USA.
The indigenous name of the lake was Pywiack (Py-wi-ack) meaning “shining rocks”. It was renamed Tenaya Lake by members of the Mariposa Battalion in June 1851. This happened at the time of the California Gold Rush, which had brought new settlers into California in search of their fortunes in gold. The Mariposa Battalion had invaded Yosemite in pursuit of the Ahwahneechees, the original inhabitants of the valley (which they called Ahwahnee). It was renamed in honor of Chief Tenaya of the Ahwahneechees. He and remnants of his family were captured here and taken to the Indian Farm Reservation in Fresno.
The heroic tale of Chief Tenaya and the Ahwahneechees is re-told in the historical novel Great Spirit of Yosemite: The Story of Chief Tenaya. The book relates the lives and spirit of the Ahwahneechees and their extraordinary struggle to resist the invasion of their homeland.