Half Dome from Olmsted Point
May 18, 2011
Photographer: Nel Graham
Summary Author: Nel Graham
The photo above shows famed Half Dome in Yosemite Valley, California as viewed from Olmsted Point, looking west. This massive granite monolith, looming 4,737 ft (1,444 m) above the valley floor, formed approximately 80 million years ago. It's part of the central Sierra Nevada Range. Intense glacial scouring shaped Yosemite and many other valleys in the Sierra's during the last 1.5 million years. The fractured rocks visible in the foreground here are granodiorite (granite and diorite), which is similar to granite but contains more plagioclase. Red Fir and Jeffry Pine have been successful at gaining a foothold in this severely scoured landscape. Photo taken in July of 2010.
Photo details: Camera Maker: Panasonic; Camera Model: DMC-TZ4; Focal Length: 5.3mm (35mm equivalent: 41mm); Aperture: f/8.0; Exposure Time: 0.0040 s (1/250); ISO equiv: 100; Exposure Bias: none; Metering Mode: Matrix; Exposure: program (Auto); White Balance: Auto; Flash Fired: No (enforced); Orientation: Normal; Color Space: sRGB.