Mirror Lake is a small, seasonal lake located on Tenaya Creek in Yosemite National Park. Situated in Tenaya Canyon directly between North Dome and Half Dome, it is the last remnant of a large glacial lake that once filled most of Yosemite Valley at the end of the last Ice Age, and is close to disappearing due to sediment accumulation.
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👉 Mirror Lake (California) in the context of Pywiack Cascade
The Pywiack Cascade is a waterfall in Yosemite National Park within the U.S. state of California. It is located a few miles downstream from the outlet of Tenaya Lake on Tenaya Creek at the head of the steep and rugged granite gorge, Tenaya Canyon. The waterfall can be viewed from Glacier Point, or by a 6-mile (9.7 km) hike from Olmsted Point, but the canyon is dangerous and the waterfall is unsafe to be reached on foot. The waterfall is highly seasonal. It typically rages in the spring and early summer while shrinking to a trickle by late summer to mid-autumn.
The water of the Pywiack Cascade slides down a steep angle of solid granite, for a total of about 600 feet (180 m). A small waterfall lies directly below the main drop. Below that, the creek continues over jumbled talus for less than a quarter of a mile (0.4 km) before it plunges over another large waterfall. Not much farther downstream is Three Chute Falls whose waters continue on into Mirror Lake and then finally empty into the Merced River, within Yosemite Valley.
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Mirror Lake (California) in the context of Tenaya Creek
Tenaya Canyon is a dramatic and dangerous canyon in Yosemite National Park, California, USA, that runs from the outlet of Tenaya Lake 10 miles down to Yosemite Valley, carrying water in Tenaya Creek through a series of spectacular cascades and pools and thence into a deep canyon below Cloud's Rest, a giant granite mountain adjacent to Half Dome. Waterfalls on the creek inside the canyon include Pywiack Cascade (named for Pywiack Dome) and Three Chute Falls, near Mirror Lake.
The top of the canyon can be seen from Tioga Pass Road (Route 120), which goes through Tuolumne Meadows and Tioga Pass. From Olmsted Point (a roadside viewing area), Clouds Rest and Yosemite's signature Half Dome dominate the canyon. At the bottom of the canyon, in Yosemite Valley, lies Mirror Lake, accessible by shuttle bus and a short walk. The Quarter Domes are not far, up Tenaya Canyon.
View the full Wikipedia page for Tenaya CreekMirror Lake (California) in the context of Three Chute Falls
Three Chute Falls (also known as Hidden Falls or Tenaya Creek Falls) is a waterfall on Tenaya Creek in Yosemite National Park, in the U.S. state of California.
The waterfall is located in lower Tenaya Canyon, around a half mile upstream from Mirror Lake. The name is from the three distinct "chutes" that the creek splits into upon flowing onto a slab of granite atop the falls, after which it plunges about 80 feet (24 m) into a congregation of boulders.
View the full Wikipedia page for Three Chute Falls