Friday, January 2, 1970

Place: CA-Bridalveil

Bridalveil Falls-4,436' (El Capitan) (37.7165936, -119.6468332)
Bridalveil Meadow-3,894' (El Capitan) (37.7171491, -119.6598896)
Bridalveil Moraine-3,930 (El Capitan) (37.7171491, -119.6568338)
Bridalveil Creek-3,904' (El Capitan) (37.7188157,  -119.6532226-Mouth)
Bridalveil Campground-6,968' (Half Dome) (37.6621519,  -119.6207175)


Description:

====
Hutchings claimed that he suggested the name on his first visit to Yosemite in 1855. 'Is it not as graceful , and as beautiful, as the veil of a bride?' to which I propose that we now baptize it, and call it, 'The Bridal Veil Fall', as one that is both characteristic and euthonious.' (Hutchings, In the Heart, 89) Another who claimed the honor of naming the fall wrote: We make bold to call it Bridal Veil; and those who may have the felicity to witness the stream floating in the embrace of the morning breeze, will acknowledge the resemblance, and perhaps pardon the liberty we have taken in attempting to apply so poetical a name to this Queen of the Valley. (Warren Baer, editor, Mariposa Democrat, Aug 5, 1856)

There were some who didn't like the name at all. ... in 1856, it was christened 'Falls of Louise' in honor of the first lady of our party who entered the valley. Thank Heaven, the cataract wouldn't stand this nonsense, and it seemed to me to be pleading with us to have the 'Bridal Veil' fully thrown aside; that it might be known forever by its Indian baptism, 'Pohono' (Boston Transcript, Jan 26, 1861) Other early names were Queen of the Valley and Cascade of the Rainbow.

The Indians did indeed call the fall "Pohono", the name was still in use in 1863 when the Whitney Survey was there (Brewer, Up and Down, 404. See Pohono Trail for the differing explanations of the word's meaning.)

The names of the meadow and the moraine appear only on the 1:24,000 map. (YNP)
From Brownings Places Names of the Sierra Nevada

====
PĆ³hono. The Bridal Veil Fall; explained to signify a blast of wind, or the night wind, perhaps from the chillness of the air occasioned by coming under the high cliff and near the falling water, or possibly with reference to the constant swaying of the sheet of water from one side to the other under the influence of the wind. Mr. Hutchings, more poetically, says that “Pohono” is “an evil spirit, whose breath is a blighting and fatal wind, and consequently to be dreaded and shunned.”
From  THE YOSEMITE BOOK by Josiah D. Whitney (1869)


According to GNIS:
  • Bridalveil Campground is also called Bridalveil Creek Campground: The Official Map of Mariposa County and Communities. Modesto, California: Compass Maps, 1990
  • Bridalveil Creek: In Yosemite National Park, heads at Ostrander Lake and trends northwest to the Merced River just south of mile marker 122 at Bridalveil Moraine in southwestern Yosemite Valley
  •  Bridalveil Falls: :In Yosemite National Park, 620 ft plunge over the south wall of Yosemite Valley on Bridalveil Creek between the north slope of Leaning Tower and the southwest slope of Cathedral Rocks. Also called:
    •  Bridal Veil Falls: Browning, Peter. Yosemite Place Names. Lafayette, California: Great West Books, 1988. p16
    • Pohono: U.S. Geological Survey. Geographic Names Phase I data compilation (1976-1981). 31-Dec-1981. Primarily from U.S. Geological Survey 1:24,000-scale topographic maps (or 1:25K, Puerto Rico 1:20K) and from U.S. Board on Geographic Names files. In some instances, from 1:62,500 scale or 1:250,000 scale maps.
    • Falls of Louise: Browning, Peter. Yosemite Place Names. Lafayette, California: Great West Books, 1988. p16
    • Cascade of the Rainbow: Browning, Peter. Yosemite Place Names. Lafayette, California: Great West Books, 1988. p16
  • Bridalvail Meadows: In Yosemite National Park, at the base of the south wall of Yosemite Valley, 0.8 km (0.5 mi) west of Bridalveil Fall on the south bank of Merced River near between mile marker 121 and 122. 
  •  Bridalveil Moraine: In Yosemite National Park, on the south wall of Yosemite Valley, 0.96 km (0.6 mi) west of Bridalveil Falls and 6.2 km (3.9 mi) southwest of Yosemite Village.
    • 1988 Letter  from N King Huber discussing the naming of this moraine and why he felt it should not be named
    • 1987 Form from Martuch showing where the moraine is
    • 1989 Form from James Schubert saying the old location of Bridalveil Moraine is inaccurate
      • I do not know how the name Bridalveil Moraine got applied to the published
        location; probably another confused fieldman or editor. There really is a
        small, hard to find moraine at that location.  .... As the USGS field checker of
        this information, I concur that the moraine at this described location is
        the most prominent and noteworthy of the several in the Yosemite Valley. It
        seems perfectly acceptable to officially tame it Bridalveil Moraine.
    • 1991 Form showing the approval of this name
    • 1930 map showing location of the moraine
    • 1972 map showing the wrong location of the moraine
    • This moraine marks the westward progress of the Tioga glacier

 Trips:

Pictures:

Posted by at
Labels: ,
Location: Yosemite, Yosemite Village, CA 95389, USA

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)