Yosemite National Park: Test Your Knowledge

Here comes another quiz in the "Test Your Knowledge of the Mother Lode" series. This time the focus is Yosemite National Park.

Of course, you've probably heard about Half Dome and Yosemite Falls, but there's just so much more to know about "the Incomparable Valley" as Yosemite Valley has been referred to.

Find out about the history of Yosemite and with the following questions (you can check your answers below)...

1. Yosemite Valley was formed long ago by:

(a) Noah's flood;
(b) an asteroid strike;
(c) a great earthquake;
(d) a massive glacier.

2. The numbers of visitors to Yosemite National Park annually is approximately:

(a) 3.5 million;
(b) 1 million;
(c) 1.5 million;
(d) 1.2 million.

3. What percent of the park is represented by Yosemite Valley itself (where Half Dome, El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, etc., are and most people visit and stay)?

(a) 10 percent;
(b) 1 percent;
(c) 15 percent;
(d) 12 percent.

4. A park bill protecting the Yosemite area was passed by Congress and then signed into law by which American President?

(a) Abraham Lincoln;
(b) John F. Kennedy;
(c) Ronald Reagan;
(d) Bill Clinton.

5. Native Americans occupied Yosemite Valley as long as:

(a) 800 years ago;
(b) 800,000 years ago;
(c) 8,000 years ago;
(d) 80,000 years ago.

6. When non-Indian peoples came upon Yosemite Valley in the middle 1800's, they and the Native Americans who were there:

(a) sat down and shared a Thanksgiving meal;
(b) suited up and played a game of football;
(c) embraced each other and couldn't figure out how they survived without each other for so long;
(d) began to fight between themselves which led to the Mariposa-Indian War.

7. In the early 20th century, a bitter struggle took place because this city wanted to dam the Tuolumne River inside Yosemite National Park so as to provide itself water to drink and hydroelectric power. This city would eventually get its way which led to the construction of O'Shaughnessy Dam:

(a) Fresno;
(b) Bakersfield;
(c) Sacramento;
(d) San Francisco.

Answers: 1. (d) 2. (a) 3. (b) 4. (a) 5. (c) 6. (d) 7. (d)

(This test was developed and based on information from the following websites: Wikipedia - Yosemite and Yosemite - National Park Service.)