The Tuolumne River is one of the major rivers draining the western slope Sierra Nevada mountains of California. It is the slightly larger northern neighbor of the Merced River; both of these originate in Yosemite National Park. Through successive Ice ages, glaciers carved valleys for both the Merced River and the Tuolumne River through what is now Yosemite National Park. The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range that is almost entirely in eastern California. ... State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Senators Dianne Feinstein (D) Barbara Boxer (D) Official language(s) English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... The Merced River is in California. ... Yosemite National Park (pronounced Yo-SEM-it-tee, IPA ) is a U.S. national park largely in Mariposa County, and Tuolumne County, California, United States. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ...

The Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River

The Tuolumne River runs as a somewhat wavy line from east to west. The Dana Fork of the Tuolomne River flows from Mount Dana and meets the Lyell Fork descending from Mount Lyell in Tuolumne Meadows, just west of the Sierra Nevada's main divide. As it runs west, though, its course deepens markedly as it drops over the first of a string of many waterfalls. Dana Meadows in Yosemite. ... Dana Meadows in Yosemite. ... Mount Dana is a mountain on the eastern edge of Yosemite National Park and is the second highest peak within the park after Mount Lyell. ... Tuolumne Meadows, as viewed from Lembert Dome Tuolumne Meadows is a gentle, dome-studded meadowy section of the Tuolumne River, in the eastern section of Yosemite National Park. ...

Glen Aulin (Gaelic: beautiful valley) lies immediately below the confluence of Cold Canyon, Conness Creek, and the Tuolumne River. Here, the valley walls pull away from each other and become steeper. The riverbed is quite level; the water meanders and forms deep pools. Just northwest of Glen Aulin, the River presents spectacular waterfalls, including LeConte Falls and Waterwheel Falls, both known for the "waterwheel" phenomenon whereby descending water hits rocks below and wheels back upward. Goidelic is one of two major divisions of modern-day Celtic languages (the other being Brythonic). ... Waterwheel Falls is a waterfall in the Sierra Nevada of California. ...

The Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, looking west. Muir Gorge cuts diagonally across the middleground.

At this point, the Tuolumne enters the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. This canyon is a deep, roughly 'V'-shaped gorge. The walls, not as steep and bare as those of Yosemite Valley, are sculpted in an almost Baroque richness of form. The flora of the valley bottom is a haphazard melange of chaparral, manzanita scrub and oak woodland characteristic of the foothills and lowlands with a coniferous forest reminiscent of (but different from) that found above the canyon rim. This vegetation clings and clambers up every ledge of the valley walls to the top, giving it a lusher appearance than Yosemite Valley, though this area in fact experiences a drier climate. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1026x1281, 61 KB) Photograph taken by Smack in August, 2004. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1026x1281, 61 KB) Photograph taken by Smack in August, 2004. ... The Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, looking west. ... Yosemite Valley with Half Dome in the distance. ... Adoration, by Peter Paul Rubens: dynamic figures spiral down around a void: draperies blow: a whirl of movement lit in a shaft of light, rendered in a free bravura handling of paint In arts, the Baroque (or baroque) is both a period and the style that dominated it. ... Chaparral is a shrubland biome found primarily in California, USA, that is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild, wet winters and hot dry summers) and wildfire. ... Species See text See Manzanita (album) for the Mia Doi Todd album. ... Species See List of Quercus species The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of several hundred species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus, and some related genera, notably Lithocarpus. ... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ...

South fork of the Tuolumne River, west of Yosemite

Below the Grand Canyon lies Hetch Hetchy Valley, perhaps the most spectacular part of the Tuolumne's course. The river bottom becomes flat again, and the canyon walls pull away and become steeper, in a fashion similar to that of Yosemite Valley. At the bottom of Hetch Hetchy Valley stands O'Shaughnessy Dam, which causes the entire valley to be flooded. Below the dam, the river flows through the Stanislaus National Forest, within which it is joined by Cherry Creek, the South Fork of the Tuolumne River, and the Middle Fork of the Tuolumne River. Far below the town of Groveland the river is designated Wild and Scenic. This portion is popular for rafting and kayaking and is joined by the Clavey River. Still farther downstream lie Don Pedro Dam and Lake Don Pedro. These reservoirs provide electricity and divert water to serve farms in the Modesto Irrigation District and Turlock Irrigation District, and cities in the San Francisco Bay Area. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 310 KB) South fork of the Tuolumne River, west of Yosemite National Park. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 310 KB) South fork of the Tuolumne River, west of Yosemite National Park. ... Hetch Hetchy Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in California. ... Yosemite Valley with Half Dome in the distance. ... OShaughnessy Dam in Hetch Hetchy The OShaughnessy Dam is a dam on the Tuolumne River in the Hetch Hetchy Valley of Californias Sierra Nevada mountains. ... Stanislaus National Forest contains 898,099 acres (3,634 km²) in four counties in Northern California. ... Cherry Creek may refer to: Cherry Creek, a tributary of the Cheyenne River in South Dakota in the United States Cherry Creek, a tributary of the South Platte River in Colorado in the United States. ... The Middle Fork flows from Yosemite Park through the Groveland District of the Stanislaus National Forest before joining the South Fork of the Tuolumne River and the mainstem of the Tuolumne River. ... Groveland is the name of a number of places in the United States of America: Groveland-Big Oak Flat, California Groveland, Illinois Groveland, Florida Groveland, Massachusetts Groveland Township, Michigan Groveland, New York This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Rafting in Brazil. ... Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. ... The Clavey River is a unique tributary of the Tuolumne River, located in Tuolumne County, California. ... Don Pedro Dam may refer to either the Old Don Pedro Dam completed in 1923, or the much larger New Don Pedro Dam that was completed in 1971. ... Lake Don Pedro or Don Pedro Lake or Don Pedro Reservoir have all been used as names for the water retained by the Don Pedro Dam. ... Electricity is a general term applied to phenomena involving a fundamental property of matter called an electric charge. ... USGS Satellite photo of the San Francisco Bay Area. ...

Towns along the Tuolumne River:

• La Grange
• Waterford
• Hughson
• Empire

Cities along the Tuolumne River: Waterford is a city located in Stanislaus County, California. ... Hughson is a city located in Stanislaus County, California. ... Empire is a census-designated place located in Stanislaus County, California. ...

• Ceres
• Modesto

The Modesto Airport lies next to the Tuolumne River. Between the airport and the river lies Veterans' Park. This park is the site of the annual Trans-Valley League high-school cross-country running meet. Ceres is a city located in Stanislaus County, California. ... Modesto is the county seat of Stanislaus County, California. ... Modesto City-County Airport, also known as Harry Sham Field, is located in Modesto, California. ...

See also

• List of California rivers