Scarred Cliffs
Scan the walls for pale scars of recent
rockfalls. Rubble at the base is further
evidence of Yosemite's seldom witnessed
but highly active geology.
Stable as they appear, granite cliffs are
vulnerable to internal flaws and subtle
agents of erosion. Near waterfall's spray
collects in paper-thin cracks, freezes and
expands, and gradually pries away flakes of
stone. At times there are sudden shifts of
scenery: a massive rockfall in 1976 made
the scar to the left of Upper Yosemite Fall.
