Vernal Fall (Yosemite Quad)

(37.727426, -119.543773)

Names in 1851 by Lafeyette Bunnell. "The Vernal Fall I so named because of the cool, vernal spray in contrast at midday with summer heat, reminding me of an April shower, because of the blue grass curiously growing among dark rocks ad gay, dripping flowers, making it an eternal April to the ground. The Indian name is Yan-o-pah, meaning a little cloud, because of the spray through which the old trail passed, and because of the circular rainbow, nowhere else seen in the mountains." (Binnell, Report, 12)
"While gazing at its beauties, let us, now and forever, earnestly protest against the perpetuation of any other nomenclature to this wonder than Pi-wy-ack, the ma,e which is given to it by the Indians, and means a a shower of sparkling crystals... "Mr. Hutchings... has misstated the Indian name for this fall, furnished him by myself... THe name given by the Yosemites to the Ten-ie-ya branch of the Merced was unmistakably Py-we-ack. This name has been transferred from it original locality by some romantic preserver of Indian names.... It is indeed a laugable idea for me to even suppose a worm-and acorn-eating Indian wold ever attempt to construct a name to mean "a shower of sparkling crystals;" his diet must have been improved by modern intelligent culture. (Bunnell, Discovery, 1911, 211.) (YNP)

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