Tenaya Lake

Tenaya Lake
Tenaya Lake as seen from a hill northwest of the lake
Location	Yosemite National Park, Mariposa County, California, US
Coordinates	37°49′51″N 119°27′30″W / 37.8308°N 119.4583°W / 37.8308; -119.4583Coordinates: 37°49′51″N 119°27′30″W / 37.8308°N 119.4583°W / 37.8308; -119.4583
Primary outflows	Tenaya Creek
Basin countries	United States
Surface elevation	8,150 feet (2,484 m)

Tenaya Lake is an alpine lake in Yosemite National Park, located between Yosemite Valley and Tuolumne Meadows. The surface of Tenaya Lake has an elevation of 8,150 feet (2,484 m). The lake basin was formed by glacial action, which left a backdrop of light granite rocks, whose beauty was known to the Native Americans. Today, Tenaya Lake is easily accessible by State Route 120 and is a popular lake for water activities.

Tenaya Lake is named after Chief Tenaya, who met the Mariposa Brigade near the shores of the lake. Tenaya protested that the lake already had a name: Pie-we-ack, or "Lake of the Shining Rocks." This original name is now attached to Pywiack Dome, a granite dome to the east of the lake.

As part of the 1864 Yosemite grant, the area became the first park land to be federally protected for preservation and public use. Yosemite became a national park in 1916 with the advent of the National Park Service.

In 1868, John Muir wrote about the Tenaya Lake's beauty and timelessness in My First Summer in the Sierra.

Tenaya Lake was created by the Tenaya Glacier, which flowed out of the vast Tuolumne Ice Sheet and down to Yosemite Valley. This same glacier created Half Dome. The Tenaya Glacier was lightly loaded with debris, and did not leave a large amount of moraine material near Tenaya Lake.

The lake is supplied by a network of creeks and springs including Murphy Creek to the northwest and Tenaya Creek. Tenaya Creek is an outflow of Cathedral Lakes and serves as both the principle inlet and outlet of Tenaya Lake. Tenaya Creek also runs through Tenaya Canyon into Yosemite Valley.