March 1960

VOL. XXXIX NUMBER 3 MARCH 1960

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE IN COOPERATION WITH THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.

COVER—Flowers of the Pacific Dogwood. —Anderson, NPS

Since 1922, the monthly publication of the National Park Service and the Yosemite Natural History Association in Yosemite National Park. John C. Preston, Park Superintendent Douglass H. Hubbard, Park Naturalist Robert F. Upton, Associate Park Naturalist Paul F. McCrary, Assistant Park Naturalist Herbert D. Cornell, Junior Park Naturalist Keith A. Trexler, Park Naturalist Trainee

VOL. XXXIX MARCH 1960 NUMBER 3 THE PACIFIC DOGWOOD

Robert W. Crippin, Ranger-Naturalist One of the most beautiful of Happy Isles, all along the Merced Yosemite's deciduous trees is the Pacific River and in the vicinity of Fern dogwood. In spring its delicate, Springs and Mirror Lake. Outside freshly opened blossoms make it the valley it is prominent at Maripicturesque. During the heat of Mariposa Grove and along the Wawona summer its bright green leaves contrast and Big Oak Flat roads. sharply with the dark shades In Yosemite National Park dogwood. In fall these same woods reach heights of from twenty leaves turn a brilliant red, changing to thirty feet and are from ten to the underforest into a spectacle of twenty inches in diameter. The trunk color. Finally, in the dead of winter, is generally straight and is characterized by a smooth, thin, dull gray bare, gnarled branches devoid of foliage, bark. Crowns are narrow and composed afford interesting patterns of snow of short branches. Leaves are and ice composed. opposite with prominent pinnate veins; A moisture-loving plant, dogwood usually found along streams or in running out to the margins in a damp forests where soil evaporation graceful curve. is very slow. Here it is most often associated Flowers of the Pacific dogwood are with Douglas-fir or giant unusual! The big, white "petals" oia. Although occasionally are in reality bracts. True dogwood d as high as 7000 feet, its most flowers are actually crowded into a ral location is at lower elevadense button in the center of these of 4000-5000 feet. On the valley petal-like structures. dogwood may be seen near Small clusters of shiny red berries

The spring dogwood display brings many people on special trips into Yosemite National Park. —McIntyre, NPS contain seeds and are the fruit of American bird portraits. When all, the dogwood. These berries are readily eaten by birds and small readily eaten by birds and small pigeon plate, he wanted a typic mammals. western tree. In the selection of sit( 1 Dogwood belongs to the plant a plant he sought help from Nutt( ill genus Cornus, a name which was who had collected extensively in 1111 derived from the Latin word for far west. Nuttall sent him specimen) "horn", referring to the very tough, of the then undescribed Pacific deu hard, hornlike wood. wood. At the suggestion of Nuttall David Douglas, the first botanist Audubon described and named lht)O to observe this tree, saw it in the tree. It was the only plant to be cles Columbia River Basin in 1825. He cribed by James Audubon. mentioned the use of its tough wood The exact origin of the name dup by the Canadian explorers for masts wood is debatable. One version N and spars for their canoes. However that the twigs of a European spec) he made an error in describing it as were used widely in the making a variety of the eastern flowering meat skewers (miniature daggers) dogwood. hold pot-roasts together. For that r First to recognize this shrub as a son the plant came to be called I new species was the botanist daggerwood, a name which pr Thomas Nuttall. James Audubon ably soon became shortened to d gave it the name Cornus nuttalli, in wood. Another theory is that t honor of his friend. name originated from the old E Audubon had started a series of lfsh practice of steeping the bark

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make a solution for washing mangy tooth powder. In some species, bark dove. from roots gives a vivid scarlet dye. Dogwood bark has been used The wood was used by early settlers successfully in place of quinine in the making of such tools as mallets is an antimalarial drug and powand hammers.,bred, it can be used as an effective The true flowers, possessing only stamens and pistils, are clustered in the center "button ". Cream-white scales or bracts surround the "button" and are sometimes improperly regarded as "petals." —Anderson, NPS

THE ORIGINAL HELICOPTER

Charles B. Vollmer. Ranger-Naturalist Man has emulated nature 's "firsts" Rocky mountains. The western states in many of his inventions. Early last are blessed with the remainder. summer I had the opportunity to be The rufous hummingbird breeds the subject of Goshawk divebombon the Pacific slopes of North Amer, ing tactics. With the discovery of the ica from about latitude 44° (Oregon) western world, and eventually its to Lat. 61 ° (in Alaska), during the bird life, men who dreamed about months of March and.April.2 Late the possibility of flight must have migrants may be seen in California looked longingly at the hummingin May or even June.3 Then in thi bird. From the design of early helilast week of June the male parent copters, one would conclude that the bids farewell to his spouse and inventors were attempting an imitayoung; for the call of migration in tion of these birds. Old motion picstrong and cannot be denied. Two of tures show one version with flapping three weeks later the females and wings, another with an oscillating their young set off for their winter circular wing. home in southern Mexico? Yosemite Perhaps no other avian friend valley provides a pleasant and nutritious amazes us more than this minute extritous stop-over for a period of pert of aerial versatility. The diving nearly a month. pursuit on bees who invade their During this month I had the oppor territory is well known. One observer tunity to observe these visitors has heard the impact of the humvarious time of day. Whenever mingbird 's beak against or into the arrived many were at work on th bee. blossom of the wooly mint. The an The appearance of the rufous tics of these wee birds amaze the lay hummingbird in the vicinity of Happy man and the ornithologist alike. Th Isles in Yosemite National Park durexact aerodynamics of their maneu ing the period of July 15 to August vering and hovering flight is no 15, is not unusual. But the arrival of known to me. They are said t. so large a number, and their concenachieve flight in excess of sixty mile tration in this moist area last summer per hour.5 Flight in any direction aroused my interest and curiosity. and hovering is made possible b So profuse was the wooly mint here wing beat of seventy per second.6 that the migrating hoards had sufIdentification of females in the fie]. ficient food. is next to impossible. In the matHumming birds are unique to the the back and head is bronzy gree Western hemisphere, with the vast blending to rufous on rump and tai majority of the five-hundred species coverts. The throat is lightly speckle( inhabiting the tropics) Of the eighwith brown on gray. A white partia teen or so species that come into the collar extends centrally into the United States, only the ruby throated breast, giving way to a rufous breas hummingbird is found east of the and tail coverts. Tail feathers bleu.

on the ends, with white on adult male 's courting, which these Outer edges. Young males appear youngsters had never observed. r ater more rufous above and esThese flights were repeated again Ily more rufous on the rump. and again while I sat for hours obporget is small, but definitely a serving them. tl OO lic red. What was this premature mating What confused me for a while was behavior? Could it be a mother 's inOle apparent mating maneuvers of struction in the fine art of courting? males. Mr. W. J. Fitzpatrick, an Or was it an early expression of an 4MIlhologist with many years in Yourge, that needed no learning in Mlnito Valley, kindly came to my these young males of two or three rid with the suggestion that this was months? e pseudo-mating procedure of the 1. Robert S. Lemmon, Our n,,,;,,.K Birds; Doublemales. Their rapid diving day & Co., Inc. Garden City, New York. 1952, hts swings in wider and wider 2. W pp i. 11ia

L. eon Dawson, The Blvd, u f Cadfu,ru,r,; tips South Moulton Co., San Francisco, California, about a female. Vertical flights 1923. Page 930. with females, go as high as the talIMI Douglas fir. Each resembled the 56.. Robert id S. Lemmon, our n„,u_;,rg Bads, etc. Ib. t+eci the beginning of the interpretive program in Yosemite National Park in 1920, bird.,sIks have played an interesting and important role. —Anderson, NPS

The stagecoach ride over the Big Oak Flat Road was an exhilarating experience for many early-day visitors to Yosemite Valley. -Boysen I think we all agree that a national park is not merely scenery. A national park embodies something that cannot be found everywhere — it embodies history, a way of life, primitive experience, early environment. It has the elements capable of providing that lifting of the spirit for which modern civilization is willing to pay so much. A national park is specifically dedicated to these intangible and imponderable qualities. Above all, national features in a national park should have validity.

—OLAUS J. MURIE

YOSEMITE ADDITIONS TO THE VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF YOSEMITE

John D. Cunningham, Ranger-Naturalist Since publication of Walker's Reptiles and Amphibians of Yosemite National Park (Yosemite Nature Notes, 25(1): 1-48) and Parker 's Mammals of Yosemite National Park (Yosemite Nature Notes, 31(6):52-105), three vertebrates new to the fauna of Yosemite have been discovered. During the summer of 1955, bullfrogs (Rana catesbiana) were discovered in a pond near the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite Valley. The bullfrog is a native of the eastern United States but has been introduced into many sections of the West. It seems to have become well established wherever introduced and, because of its large size, voracious appetite, and proclivity toward feeding upon amphibians, must be considered a major factor limiting the distribution of other anurans. If the bullfrog becomes established in Yosemite, the native populations of the Pacific treefrog (Hyla regilla) and the Western toad (Bufo boreas) can be expected to diminish.

On July 9, 1949, several slender salamanders (Batrachoseps attenuatus) were collected or observed in a very damp, rotten log near the Henness Ridge Fire Lookout, close to the park boundary in the southwest part of Yosemite. On August 3, 1958, a search was made of Henness Ridge but no salamanders were discovered. The area surrounding the lookout is dry and exposed with decomposed granite soil and scattered boulders. The few logs present were overturned and were slightly damp beneath, presumably from thunderstorms the previous week. Vegetation is dry Transition, dominated by yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa), incense cedar (Libocedrus decurrens), black oak (Quercus kelloggi), manzanita (Arctostaphylos sp.), and mountain lilac (Ceanothus sp.). Moisture conditions exist on the northern slopes and sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) and white fir (Abies concolor) are to be found there. The entire area seems somewhat atypical for the species but, as is the case in the mountains of southern California, these salamanders aestivate when conditions become intolerable. The small size of the slender salamander, and its relatively large surface area, make it susceptible to desiccation. ProbablyYosemite National Park (Yosemite Naably the best time to further search ture Notes, 31(6) :52-105), three vertefor Batracho.seps would be in the spring brates new to the fauna of Yosemite or early summer. have been discovered. During the summer of 1955, bull. On July 9, 1949, several slender frogs (Rana catesbiana) were discovsalamanders (Batrachoseps attenuates) ered in a pond near the Ahwahnee were collected or observed in a very Hotel in Yosemite Valley. The bulldamp, rotten log near the Henness frog is a native of the eastern United Ridge Fire Lookout, close to the park States but has been introduced into boundary in the southwest part of many sections of the West. It seems Yosemite. On August 3, 1958, a to have become well established search was made of Henness Ridge wherever introduced and, because of but no salamanders were discovered. its large size, voracious appetite, and The area surrounding the lookout is proclivity toward feeding upon am dry and exposed with decomposed phibians, must be considered a granite soil and scattered boulders. major factor limiting the distribution The few logs present were overof other anurans. If the bullfrog be, turned and were slightly damp becomes established in Yosemite, the neath, presumably from thundernative populations of the Pacific storms the previous week. Vegetation treefrog (Hyla regilla) and the Wes• is dry Transition, dominated by yeltern toad (Bufo boreal) can be ex, low pine (Pinus ponderosa), incense pected to diminish. cedar (Libocedrus decurrens), black Two long-eared, or lump-nosed, oak (Quercus kelloggi), manzanita bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) were (Arctostaphylos sp.), and mountain captured in Yosemite Valley, 4.2 lflan (Ceanothus sp.). Moisture condimiles west of Yosemite Village, on tions exist on the northern slopes and September 6, 1957. Ingles in his sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) and Mammals of California and Its Coacla white fir (Abies concolor) are to be Waters lists the species as occurring found there. The entire area seems in the Sonoran Life Zones. The above somewhat atypical for the species locality is well into the Transition but, as is the case in the mountains Life Zone. Fifteen species of bats are of southern California, these salanow found within the boundaries o' manders aestivate when conditions Yosemite National Park.

THE OTHER HALF OF HALF DOME

William E. Steinkraus, Ranger-Naturalist A day's exhibit of grandeur is cliobservation from above reveals a nit!iced in scenic Yosemite Valley by long, 500 by 1500 yard, oval-shaped he last rays of golden sunlight monolithic structure with a very ooping up the sheer face of Half steep southeast side. The opposite me, the granite guardian perched side, trending north 45° east, is a igh on a jagged pedestal. sheer face rising at an 82° angle How many centuries ago did the 2000 feet above its base. The top eeping indian profile, sketched on constitutes a 13 acre gentle rolling e great granite face, first see the summit. ghl of day? Where is the other half It is carved from the most massive f Half Dome? — I can almost hear type of granite in the Yosemite rehe echo from a million valley visigion. Half Dome quartz monzonite is on, identified as a medium-grained Yosemite valley, superabounding light-gray rock. The dark minerals, In superlative scenery, is crowned biotite and hornblende, are wellby the most colossal dome of the developed crystals inside the quartz Sierra Nevada. Half Dome, reaching and feldspar. Biotite crystals form to an elevation of 8852 feet, rises thin hexagonal plates '/e to A inch in 50 feet above the valley floor. An diameter. The hornblende prisms

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range from 1/e to nearly 1 inch in Half Dome's other side was not a length. mirror image of the existing half. If The story of Half Dome begins with the dome had been symmetrical in a large granite intrusion. Hot molten its massive structure, the glacier material within the earth pushed the could not have carved a sheer overlying metamorphic rock upward northwest face. The glacier failed to into a domed structure. If hot magma pluck away the opposite side of the hardens after it stops moving, the dome when the ice encircled it. A rock will be massive, but if the upsingle shell covers the long southeast ward push continues while the rock side. Its massive character is maniis crystallizing, structural features fested by its long period of exposure; will result. The intrusive mass borsince the last shell broke away, dering the overlying layers of the gullies, nine inches deep running metamorphic crust cooled first. down the steep slope, have been cut Liquid rock beneath continued to into the granite. rise, building up stresses in the newly The shells will peel off according frozen local granite. The hardened to the joint pattern produced when rock failed by breaking up into conthe granite cooled. Disintegration is centric shells while the downward effected mainly by frost sapping and cooling and upward movement conplucking. Outer shells are only one tinued. The resulting dome structo two feet thick at the summit. They ture may be compared to the conbecome increasingly thicker toward centric arrangement of an onion. the massive center. While an intrusive mass is coolHalf Dome 's missing section, corn ing, the rock contracts. Vertical, tenprising a more fractured mass, was sion fractures may result separating plucked away and carried down the mass as evidenced by the face stream by the moving ice. A zone of Half Dome. of northeast trending joints exist in During the Sierra Nevada uplifts, the surrounding rock parallel to th e a modified V-shaped Tenaya canyon face of the dome. At the northeast was sculptured out of the granite end of the face, a remnant of Half rock beside Half Dome whose front Dome 's other side has been left be runs parallel to the deeply incised hind. Vertical sheets, parallel to the canyon. face, once terminated in this granite Doubtless, the massive dome exshoulder. Jointed sheets were easily isted as a high rounded ridge bequarried by the glacier. The section fore the beginning of the ice ages a of rock, towering above the ice, million years ago. Its face had not would be undercut and then, break yet been exposed. ing away, would drop down upon The early El Portal glaciers co gthe advancing glacier. The disinte• ered the valley with moving ice grated granite was carried through passing 700 feet over Glacier Point. Yosemite valley. Some of the debris Tenaya glacier, a tongue of ice enmust lie at the bottom of the valley tering Yosemite Valley from the buried beneath the fill deposited northeast, reached to within 500 feet during the last glacial cycle. The of the top of Half Dome. It plucked Wisconsin glacier never ascended away the fractured granite of Tento the base of Half Dome. aya canyon, gouging out a steepA great quantity of Half Dome sided U-shaped valley. quartz monzonite, deposited by th•

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ly glaciers, is found between the face, clings tenaciously to the alveil Falls and El Portal. Of main body. A deep vertical crack, rse only a small proportion of this 10 inches wide, coinciding with the dfanite deposit originated in the faedge of the great face, separates the mlltar dome. But here lies part of the two parts at the summi along their "other half" of Half Dome. northeast contact zone. Another remnant, a section of the Half Dome ' s "other half" corn- "other half", is still attached to the prises many different shapes and F,~1Gasive structure. A precipitous sizes between its overhanging mass erhang, extending 90 feet out from and the canyon bottom at El Portal.

YOSEMITE FALLS IN THE MOONLIGHT

Ted R. McVey. Ranger-Naturalist am near flood stage, filling both channels. white water crashing over the rocks in its mad dash to the Valley floor. n a wondrous sight.. soft beams from the moon, and the mist from the falls had created an enchanting lunar rainbow; shimmering arch of soft eerie silver light curved across the base of the falls. danced before me teasingly, now appearing brightly and then fading away as the clouds blotted out the light from the moon above.

YOSEMITE NOTES FROM MY JOURNAL

William L Neely, Ranger-Naturalist I write of a certain rebellious testifies to an ability to meet change, spirit in Nature. The sentimental often survive and thrive. speak of the calm and peace of the I am not so impressed by the un• mountains and the never-changing changing calm of nature that one tranquillity of life up here, "away reads about all the time, but rather from our rapidly-changing civilizaby the constant mutability of nature, tion." and for the elasticity with which wild They are lulled. things face the extremes. Last year it If you are alert you will find that was cold and wet; this year parched Nature is always redoing her hair and dry. We all talk about it, bu and shifting the furniture around. the coyote goes about his business She is never satisfied with the course If the streams dry up, all the mor of a stream through the meadows stranded fish to fatten him. and is forever washing down the And yet the plants and animal granites with floods and freshets, are not always responsible mirror and ringing up a howling good thunto reflect daily events or normal cl derstorm when things get too dull. mates. The knobcone pine is a r I admire the coyote. Unlike introflection of a fire-climax. It waits. spective man, he never analyzes his tiently to seed itself, bearing con, actions or worries about his conflicts that can only be opened in the h :. with the world, nor nurses regrets of a fire. That fire may be rare • for yesterday's mistakes. He is fornever come, but it has made th. ever in the present. One finds this adaptation to an extreme and not t healthy attitude all through nature. normal. Yet, on the other hand, t When the hawk is near, the birds set trout in this dry summer will die up an agitated racket. He swoops the thousands in dried-up strear down and carries off a sparrow. He is fitted for streams and not When he is gone there is some flutstreams. tering about, but soon from some Even the destructive needlemi tree a song is heard again and busithat 's raging through the Tuolurn ness resumes. forest... in its dependence upon t The coyote faces the day... he lodgepole pine will it completely cf never yearns for the "good old days." troy its host, and in so doing dest I think the great ones are not those its own self? We ask these questio who bring about great changes, but The coyote doesn't. I see him in those who can meet and adjust to meadow. He is scratching his the change that has been made. The and looking down a ground-squl coyote's survival, like that of the hole. I envy his complete immer crow and those exasperating aphids, in his environment.

PUBLICATIONS FOR SALE AT THE YOSEMITE MUSEUM

All mail orders should be addressed to, and remittances made payable to, Yosemite NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION, Yosemite NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA. Prices include postage, insurance, sold on proper items, California State Sales Tax 3%, plus 1% County Tax.

NATURAL

Adams' Guide to Yosemite Valley, Illustrated $1.65 Auto Tour of Yosemite National Park - Ditton and McHenry

Campsite Finder (Western) - Hartesveldt 1.15 Climbers Guide to High Sierra - Sierra Club 3.25 Devils Postpile National Monument - Hartesveldt

Exploring Our National Parks and Monuments - Butcher (paper) 3.75 Exploring Our National Parks and Monuments - Butcher (cloth) 5.40 Camping Light - With Backpack or Burro - Sierra Club 2.25 Happy Isles Nature Center, Your Guide to - Hubbard

National Park Story in Pictures - Story °.-°

National Parks, The - What They Mean to You and Me - Tilden (cloth) 6.20 National Parks, The - What They Mean to You and Me - Tilden (paper) 1.15 Nature Trail - Inspiration Point Self-Guiding - Carpenter

Nature Trail - Mariposa Grove Self Guiding - Wason

Place Names of Yosemite Valley - Hartesveldt

Rocks & Minerals, How to Know Them - Pearl

Starr's Guide to John Muir Trail and High Sierra Region 2.25 This is California - Obert...........°--..-° ---°--- 8.00 Waterfalls, Famous, of the World - Brockman

Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada - Ansel Adams & John Muir 12.70 Yosemite Story, The - Scott 1.20 Yosemite Trails & Tales - Taylor °

ANIMAL LIFE

Animal Tracks, Field Guide to - Murie 4.30 Birds of Pacific States - Hoffman 6.20 Birds, Western, Field Guide to - Peterson 4.30 Fishes of Yosemite - Stebbins -

Fishes of Yosemite National Park - Evans-Wallis

Mammals, Field Guide to - Burt and Grossenheider 4.30 Mammals of Yosemite National Park - Parker

Reptiles and Amphibians of Yosemite National Park - Walker

Survey of Sierra Nevada Bighorn - Jones

AND FLOWERS

Broadleaved Trees of Yosemite National Park - Brockman

Cone-bearing Trees of Yosemite National Park - Cole

Ferns, Field Guide to - Cobb 4.30 Sequoias, Yosemite, Guide to the - McFarland

Wildflowers of the Sierra (80 color photos) - Hubbard

Wildflowers, Western, Field Book of - Armstrong 5.40

HISTORY AND INDIANS

Lost Mines of Yosemite - Hubbard (paper) 1.20 Lost Mines of Yosemite - Hubbard (cloth) 3.00 Guns and Ghost Towns - Chalfant 4.05 Indians of Yosemite, Yesterday and Today - Godfrey

John Muir, Protector of the Wilds - Holmes-Morrill 2.00 Indian Material Culture - Barrett and Gifford (paper) 2.20 Indian Material Culture - Barrett and Gifford (cloth) 3.25 Mother Lode Country, Guide to the - Brockman

Years in Yosemite - Russell (paper)..............---°-°-°---- 2.20 Years in Yosemite - Russell (cloth) 3.25 Stephen Mather of the National Parks - Shankland 6.20 Wilderness World of John Muir, The - Teale 4.85 Wilderness Preservation in America: The Story of an Idea - Huth

GEOLOGY AND MAPS

Geologic History of Yosemite Valley (Prof. Paper 160) - Matthes 5.75 Geology of Yosemite Valley, Brief Story of - Beatty

High Sierra Camp Areas, Pocket Guide to - Clark

High Sierra Camp Areas, Trail Guide to - Clark 1.15 Incomparable Valley, The - Matthes (paper) 2.15 of Yosemite National Park, Topographic USGS

of Yosemite Valley, Topographic, (geology story printed on back)

Backcountry of Yosemite, Pocket Guide to - Clark

Backcountry of Yosemite, Trail Guide to - Clark 1.15 High Boundary Country, Pocket Guide to - Clark

High Boundary Country, Trail Guide to - Clark 1.15

FOR CHILDREN

with Tupi, An Indian Boy of the Sierra - Hubbard (paper) 1.20 with Tupi, An Indian Boy of the Sierra - Hubbard (cloth) 3.00 Animal Friends of the Sierra - Hubbard (paper) 1.20 Animal Friends of the Sierra - Hubbard (cloth) 3.00 National Park Adventure - Hubbard (paper) 1.20 National Park Adventure - Hubbard (cloth) 3.00

Digitized by Yosemite Online Library Dan Anderson