Sketches and awed descriptions of Yosemite’s grand views had reached the East in the mid-1800s, but nothing provoked public reaction like Watkins’ photos, which were exhibited at a gallery in ...

Farrington noted that another rock slide closed Highway 120 into Yosemite National Park last year. In fact, many of Yosemite’s spectacular rock features, including Yosemite Valley itself, were carved ...