Dana Meadows
Encyclopedia
For the activist, see Donella "Dana" Meadows
.
The Dana Meadows can be found at the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park
, at the foot of Mount Dana
, not far from Tuolumne Meadows
and the Tioga Pass
entrance station. The Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River
originates adjacent to the meadows, and flows west through them towards its junction with the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River.
At an altitude of 9,728 feet (2,965 m), the meadow
can be covered in snow up to 162 inches (411 cm) deep in wintertime. In June or July, it is springtime in these meadows, but snow can come at any time, especially after 1 September.
Before Yosemite became a park, Basque
sheepherders would graze their flocks here, and in other areas of the Sierra Nevada. Often lonely, they would carve their initials into the trees of the meadow, several of which are still visible. (In hunting season, some animals of the Sierra, such as the deer, have learned to migrate into the park.)
The meadows are named for James Dwight Dana
(1813–1895), a professor of geology and natural history at Yale
.
Donella Meadows
Donella H. "Dana" Meadows was a pioneering American environmental scientist, teacher and writer. She is best known as lead author of the influential book The Limits to Growth, which made headlines around the world.- Life :Born in Elgin, Illinois, Meadows was educated in science, receiving a B.A...
.
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
, at the foot of Mount Dana
Mount Dana
Mount Dana is a mountain on the eastern edge of Yosemite National Park in the U.S. state of California. At an elevation of , it is the second highest mountain in Yosemite . Mount Dana is the highest peak in Yosemite that is a simple hike to the summit...
, not far from Tuolumne Meadows
Tuolumne Meadows
Tuolumne Meadows is a gentle, dome-studded sub-alpine meadowy section of the Tuolumne River, in the eastern section of Yosemite National Park. Its approximate location is . Its approximate elevation is 8619 feet .-Natural History:...
and the Tioga Pass
Tioga Pass
Tioga Pass is a mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. State Route 120 runs through it, and serves as the eastern entry point for Yosemite National Park. It is the highest highway pass in California and in the Sierra Nevada. Mount Dana is to the east of the pass...
entrance station. The Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River
Tuolumne River
The Tuolumne River is a California river that flows nearly from the central Sierra Nevada to the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley...
originates adjacent to the meadows, and flows west through them towards its junction with the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River.
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
can be covered in snow up to 162 inches (411 cm) deep in wintertime. In June or July, it is springtime in these meadows, but snow can come at any time, especially after 1 September.
Before Yosemite became a park, Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
sheepherders would graze their flocks here, and in other areas of the Sierra Nevada. Often lonely, they would carve their initials into the trees of the meadow, several of which are still visible. (In hunting season, some animals of the Sierra, such as the deer, have learned to migrate into the park.)
The meadows are named for James Dwight Dana
James Dwight Dana
James Dwight Dana was an American geologist, mineralogist and zoologist. He made pioneering studies of mountain-building, volcanic activity, and the origin and structure of continents and oceans around the world.-Early life and career:...
(1813–1895), a professor of geology and natural history at Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
.