Yosemite Grant

Yosemite National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View
Show map of California Show map of the US
Location	Tuolumne, Mariposa, & Madera counties, California, U.S.
Nearest city	Mariposa, California
Coordinates	37°51′N 119°33′W / 37.850°N 119.550°W / 37.850; -119.550Coordinates: 37°51′N 119°33′W / 37.850°N 119.550°W / 37.850; -119.550
Area	748,036 acres (3,027.19 km2)
Established	October 1, 1890 (1890-10-01)
Visitors	5,028,868 (in 2016)
Governing body	National Park Service
Website	Official website
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Type	Natural
Criteria	vii, viii
Designated	1984 (8th session)
Reference no.	308
State Party	United States
Region	North America

Yosemite National Park (/joʊˈsɛmᵻti/ yoh-SEM-it-ee) is a national park spanning portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in Northern California. The park, which is managed by the National Park Service, covers an area of 747,956 acres (1,168.681 sq mi; 302,687 ha; 3,026.87 km²) and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. On average, about 4 million people visit Yosemite each year, and most spend the majority of their time in the seven square miles (18 km²) of Yosemite Valley. The park set a visitation record in 2016, surpassing 5 million visitors for the first time in its history.

Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves, lakes, mountains, glaciers, and biological diversity. Almost 95% of the park is designated wilderness. Yosemite was central to the development of the national park idea. First, Galen Clark and others lobbied to protect Yosemite Valley from development, ultimately leading to President Abraham Lincoln's signing the Yosemite Grant in 1864. Later, John Muir led a successful movement to establish a larger national park encompassing not just the valley, but surrounding mountains and forests as well—paving the way for the United States national park system.