El Capitan-7,569' (Yosemite Quad, El Capitan) (37°44′03″N 119°38′16″W)
El Capitan Meadow-3,953' (Yosemite Quad, El Capitan) (37.7238155, -119.6354441)
El Capitan Bridge-3,953' (Yosemite Quad, El Capitan) (37.7238155, -119.6312772)
El Capitan Moriane-7,713' (Yosemite Quad, El Capitan) (37.7415924, -119.6585020)
El Capitan Gully-4,675' (Yosemite Quad, El Capitan) (37.7411111, -119.6372222)
Description:
The name was given by the Mariposa Battialian in 1851... "The native Indian name ... is To-to-konoo-lah, from To-to-kon, the Sandhill Crane, a chief of the First People, (C. Hart Merriam in SCB 10, no.2. Jan 1917, 206)
"The famous cliff, El Capitan, the Captain, is a Spanish interpretation of the Indian name To-tock-ah-noo-lah, meaning the "Rock Chief'" (Bunnel, Report, 1889-90, 9) "Upon one occasion I asked [Tenaya], 'Why do you call the cliff To-to-konoo-lah? The Indian's reply was, "Because he looks like one...Come with me and see...As the Indian reached a point a little above and some distance from the cliff, he triumphantly pointed to the perfect image of a man's head and face, with side whiskers, and with an expression of the sturdy English type and asked, 'Does he not look like To-to-konoo-lah? The 'Rock Chief' or 'Captain', was again Sandino's [the interpreter's] interpretation of the word while viewing the likeness." (Bernell, Discovery, 1911, 214-15)
Totokónula. Usually spelt Tutocanula, the rock generally called “El Capitan;” the Indians say that this name is an imitation of the cry of the crane, given because, in winter this bird enters the Valley generally by flying over that rock. How the name El Capitan, the captain, originated it is not easy to say; perhaps it may have been given with the feeling that it was the most striking and impressive mass of rock in the Valley, and the Indians, who often have a smattering of Spanish, may have called attention to it as “el Capitan;” or, as we might say, “the biggest fellow of them all.” The west side of El Capitan is called “Ajemu,” or manzanita, that being a place where they gather the berries of this familiar shrub.
The Yosemite Book:
a description of the Yosemite Valley and the adjacent region
of the Sierra Nevada, and of the big trees of California by Josiah Dwight Whitney, Jr, Chp Introduction
There is also a legend type of explanation that is repeated throughout Yosemite literature. Galen Clark says that To-to-konoo-lah is from the measuring worm (tul-tok-a-na) which crawled up the face of the rock to rescue two small boys who were beyond being saved by any other creatures of the valley (Clark, 92-95)
According to one source, the original English name was "Crane Mountain," not for the reason given above, but for the sandhill cranes that entered the valley by flying over the top of El Capitan. (YNN 34, no 1, Jan 1955:6) And finally, Hutchings' California Magazine 1, no 1, July 1856: 3, called it "Giant's Tower". (YNP)
In Speaking of Bears by Rachel Mazur, she talks about that in 1943 a secret bear feeding station was set up about a hundred yards from the road close to El Capitan. A concrete feeding platform was built with a water pip and a natural rock bear bathtub installed. This lasted one summer.
From GNIS:
- El Capitan: In Yosemite National Park, on the north wall of Yosemte Valley and directly above Yosemite Meadow. (US-T121) Also called:
- Tote-ack-ah-noo-la: Browning, Peter. Yosemite Place Names. Lafayette, California: Great West Books, 1988. p38
- To-tock-ah-noo-lah: Browning, Peter. Yosemite Place Names. Lafayette, California: Great West Books, 1988. p38
- To-to-konoo-lah: Browning, Peter. Place Names of the Sierra Nevada. Berkeley, California: Wilderness Press, 1986. p63
- Monarch of the Vale: Browning, Peter. Yosemite Place Names. Lafayette, California: Great West Books, 1988. p188
- Giant Tower: Browning, Peter. Yosemite Place Names. Lafayette, California: Great West Books, 1988. p38
- Crane Mountain: Browning, Peter. Yosemite Place Names. Lafayette, California: Great West Books, 1988. p38
- El Capitan Meadow: In Yosemite National Park at Yosemite Valley and the north bank of Merced River at mile marker 123. (US-T121)
- El Capitan Moraine: A glacial deposit in Yosemite National Park, in Yosemite Valley between El Capitan and Cathedral Rocks. (US-T121)
Trips:
- June 2006 - Five day backpack trip with Andrea, Steven, Sherri and Gary
Pictures:
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| From Artist Point |
References:
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