Geology
The Park's most prominent features resulted from ancient volcanic action, erosion, continental uplift, and Ice Age glaciers.
Guide Sections
Use Geology's guide sections to understand how this stop fits into the larger park plan.
Geology Details
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Learn About the Park
The geology of the Park is fascinating. With the Ice Age that retreated 10,000 years ago, slow-moving ice scraped and carved El Capitan and Half Dome, polished solid granite into smooth domes, created lakes, and left massive boulders strewn across the landscape. Not all of this is ancient history, however. The Happy Isles rockfall in 1996 sent 80,000 tons of rock down to the valley floor at 160 miles per hour. Also, the Ahwahnee Hotel was evacuated in 2009 after being threatened by a rockfall from the cliffs behind the premises.