BY: LAUREN L. K11

~YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK~

Yosemite National Park is located in California. Around 195 miles away from San Francisco. 761,266 acres is home to many wildlife species and Yosemite plants. Almost 95% of the park is designated wilderness. On October 1st, 1890, more than 1,500 square miles of set aside “forest lands” was soon to be known as Yosemite National Park. Later, in 1906, Yosemite Valley and Mariposa grove, was included in Yosemite. Every year, more than 3.5 million people come and visit Yosemite.

Yosemite has enormous granite mountains from the 8,842-foot half dome to the 13,114-foot Mt. Lyell, Yosemite’s tallest mountain. Yosemite also has waterfalls, clear streams, and giant sequoia forests. In the months of January, February, and March, it usually rains. Summer days are warm and dry, spring and fall days are sunny but can suddenly change to stormy.

~California Ground Squirrel~

The California Ground Squirrel(Spemophilus beecheyi), has many adaptations for living in Yosemite. Some of their predators are rattlesnakes, raccoons, badgers and weasels. Since their main predators are rattlesnakes, a mother with a pup, chews on the skin shed by rattlesnakes. Then, she licks her pup to disguise their smell. The squirrels kick sand and other forms of harassment to get the rattlesnakes to rattle their tails. Also, they use their tails to glide from tree to tree, they act as a parachute.

~Seirra Nevada Red Fox~

The Seirra Nevada Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes necator) have well developed claws and sharp teeth which are used for slicing and shearing.

They are adapted for hunting prey in open environments.

Seirra Nevada Red Foxes have long limbs (arms, and legs) compared to the rest of their body, this helps them run faster to catch prey.

~Black Bear~Black Bears

(Ursus americanus) live in forests, northern swamps, and scrub lands. Grasses and berries with acorns are great treats for black bears. Black bears if you did not know, are actually not black, they are a brownish color. They have dexterous toes, lips and a long tongue to help them gather berries and acorns. Black bears adapt to nighttime hours, because they do most of their hunting at night. In late summer and early fall, they wonder off in search for high protein foods like acorns, they build up fat layers. Then their next step is to find a den for hibernating in the cold winter, usually like a dead tree or indentations/ holes in the sides of cliffs.

~Mountain Lions~ Mountain Lions (Puma concolor) are very good hunters, they have a great sense of smell and hearing which help them find prey.

They are also good climbers and jumpers. They can jump more than twenty feet up into a tree from standing still on the ground.

They can also swim when they need to. For instance, if any type of their prey tried to swim away, they can chase after it in the water.

Plants of Yosemite~California Black Oak Trees ~(Quercus kellogi) They have roots under ground and on the surface. Their leaves are 2.5-3cm. They can live up to 500 years of age.

~Mariposa Lily~(Calochortus leichtlinii) Mariposa Lilys have three white petals and a dark center. They are often found blooming under pine trees. The name Mariposa Lily means butterfly in Spanish.

~Giant Sequoia~(Sequoiadendron giganteum)Giant Sequoia trees are the largest trees on earth. They are known to live up to 3,00 years. In Yosemite National Park, there are three sequoia forests.

~Yosemite Facts~Visitors love

Yosemite’s many waterfalls. Especially the 2,425-foot waterfall that ranks the tallest in North America, flowing down into the beautiful Yosemite Valley.

Every year, the average rain fall is 37.9 in., the average snow fall is 61.9in. The average temperature in January is 37 degrees F, and the average temperature in June is 72 degrees F.

The cliffs, water falls, steep mountains and deep lakes were formed millions of years ago by earthquakes, glaciers and other forces of nature.

~THINGS TO DO AT YOSEMITE~When people arrive at Yosemite, there are so many things the can chose from, people can go …………..

Explore Yosemite by 800 miles of hiking trails and 35o miles of road.

backpacking

raftingsnowshoeing

Horseback riding

Ice skatingRock climbing

camping

Hiking

~References~

Nps.gov

Terragalleria.comEnature.com

Nationalzoo.si.edu

Nationalparks.org

Nps photo collection

msn.com

Wikipedia.com

google

~Food Chain~