El Capitan is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is about 3,000 feet (914 m) from base to summit along its tallest face and is a world-famous location for big wall climbing, including the disciplines of aid climbing, free climbing, and more recently for free solo climbing.
Southwest face (left, in light) and southeast face (right, in shade) of El Capitan from Yosemite Valley; the Nose lies between the two faces
1864 photo of El Capitan by Charles Leander Weed
William Henry Jackson's 1899 photograph of El Capitan
El Capitan viewed from Tunnel View.
Yosemite National Park is a national park in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers 759,620 acres in four counties – centered in Tuolumne and Mariposa, extending north and east to Mono and south to Madera. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves, lakes, mountains, meadows, glaciers, and biological diversity. Almost 95 percent of the park is designated wilderness. Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada.
Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View
Paiute ceremony (1872)
Lafayette Bunnell gave Yosemite Valley its name.
Sculpture of Chief Tenaya made by Sal Maccarone for the Tenaya Lodge in Yosemite National Park