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Tenaya Lake in Yosemite National Park

 

Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park

Tenaya Lake (1, 2) is a lake in Yosemite National Park between Tuolumne Meadows and Yosemite Valley. The surface of the lake is at 8150 feet (2848 m). The lake was named after Chief Tenaya of the Yosemite Valley people. The original name of the lake was Pywiack (Pie-we-ack), or “Lake of the Shining Rocks,” a name that is now attached to a granite dome to the east of the lake.

Tenaya Lake was created by a branch of the Tuolumne Glacier as it passed through Tenaya Canyon. The lake flows into Tenaya Creek, which flows through Tenaya Canyon below Cloud’s Rest (1, 2) and into Yosemite Valley. A curse was reportedly placed by Chief Tenaya on Tenaya Canyon in the 1850s, as the result of the death of his son at the hands of the Mariposa Battalion, which had been sent to remove the tribe from Yosemite Valley.

(Note added on 06/17/2008: National Park Service maps “strongly discourage” hiking in Tenaya Canyon. Hiking the Canyon involves dangerous exposure to heights. Other dangers include dangerous waterfalls and cascades and wet, slippery, polished granite surfaces. Numerous deaths and disappearances have occurred in Tenaya Canyon. Chief Tenaya’s curse aside, gravity is one of the few forces that still influence Natural Selection in human beings.) :-)

Tenaya Lake is a very beautiful place to stop as you travel the Tioga Road eastward toward Mono Lake.

-Bill at Cheshire Cat Photo™

You can view higher-resolution photos (*generally* 7-30 megabytes, compressed) at the Cheshire Cat Photo™ Pro Gallery on Shutterfly™, where you can also order prints and gifts decorated with the photos of your choice from the gallery. Apparel and other gifts decorated with some of our most popular photos can be ordered from the Cheshire Cat Photo™ Store on CafePress®. Both Shutterfly™ and CafePress® ship to most international locations worldwide!

 

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