A photograph of Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls as seen from a trail near Yosemite Lodge. The indigenous peoples who lived in the valley called Yosemite Ahwahnee, meaning “gaping mouth”. They called the falls Chorlok, simply meaning “high fall”. This photograph appears in the Native American historical fiction Great Spirit of Yosemite: The Story of Chief Tenaya. They were renamed Yosemite Falls by members of the Mariposa Battalion, who invaded the valley in 1851, at the time of the California Gold Rush.
YOSEMITE FALLS
The Falls are made up of three separate falls fed by Yosemite Creek. The Upper Yosemite Fall is 1,430 feet (435 m) high, the middle cascades 675 feet (205 m), and the Lower Yosemite Fall is 320 feet (98 m). Altogether, they are one of the world’s highest waterfalls. The headwaters of Yosemite Creek are the Grant Lakes in the Sierra Nevada, in Yosemite National Park. It meanders 13.2 miles (21 km) through Eagle Creek Meadow, over the Falls, and then into the Merced River. In most years, the falls dry up by late summer.
The original name given to Yosemite Creek by the Ahwahneechees, (who were the indigenous people who lived in the valley), was Schotolto (Scho-tol-to-wi), believed to mean “the creek of the fall”.
The largest and most important village of the Ahwahneechees was located under Yosemite Falls (Chorlok). It extended southwest under the cliffs almost reaching the Three Brothers (Pompompa). Apparently, Chief Tenaya had a ceremonial house based under a large oak tree in this village. The Ahwahneechees were driven out of Yosemite Valley during the Mariposa Indian war of 1850/51. This war had started because of conflicts between indigenous groups and the new settlers who had arrived in their tens of thousands during the California Gold Rush.
The remarkable and true story of Chief Tenaya and the Ahwahneechees is re-told in the Native American novel Great Spirit of Yosemite: The Story of Chief Tenaya.
Hi, I am Paul, photographer, and author of the historical novel “Great Spirit of Yosemite: The Story of Chief Tenaya”. This ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ illustrated book is available in eBook and paperback formats through all major online booksellers from $2.99 (e.g. Amazon, Bookshop.org, IndieBound, Apple Books, etc) - details can be found in "Purchasing Options" in the "About the Book" drop-down.