Half Dome Facts For Kids: The Wonders Of Yosemite National Park

Those who have been a fan of Yosemite National Park will surely know about the Half Dome.

The Half Dome trail has received quite a bit of popularity, especially for those who are ready to take the challenge. It's especially known for the ascent using a cable route, and once you are at the top, the Yosemite Valley looks exceptionally beautiful.

Backpackers and hikers are known to wait to apply for a Half Dome permit needed to explore the area, but only a handful are able to go through the lottery. Still, thousands manage to visit the place every year to spice up their love for adventure and to taste the wilderness.

And, believe it or not, through the years, some people have managed to free climb the Half Dome.

So, do keep reading if you have any interest in taking in some cool Half Dome facts.

The History Of The Half Dome

Even though this geological structure is thought to be a Half Dome, it isn't really so. The appearance of a dome with a missing northwest half is just an illusion.

Moreover, the Half Dome may look strikingly different from other parts of the Yosemite Valley. For instance, from the Washburn Point, the structure appears to look like a rock's thin ridge that's facing northeast-southwest with both sides having an almost equal steepness.

At first, the Half Dome was deemed to be inaccessible in the 1870s. But, George G. Anderson proved this to be wrong by climbing the summit on its east slope in 1875.

Since then, every year, thousands of people flock to cover the 8.5 mi (13.7 km) long Half Dome trail at the Yosemite National Park valley. After that, you will need to climb some granite stairs and make your way through the cable route to reach the summit.

The best part is, there are different ways to climb to the summit of the Half Dome.

On the vertical northwest face, there are routes for the rock climbers who are feeling a bit more adventurous. The Regular Northwest Face is a Grave VI climb first done in 1957 by Royal Robbins, and it took them five days to complete the ascent.

Aside from being fairly difficult, the Half Dome hike can be completed in a single day. But, some like to break up the journey by spending the night at the Little Yosemite Valley.

Such Half Dome hikers have to be issued a wilderness permit along with the Half Dome permit.

It's also great to have some cool off time after reaching the Vernal and Nevada Falls after a long, arduous hike. Then, you will continue climbing to the northeast ridge before reaching the steep ascent covered by the cable route.

The 'Diving Board' is an iconic location of the Half Dome, and it allows trekkers to see the spectacular view that was captured by Ansel Adams, in the photograph 'Monolith, The Face Of Half Dome' that he took on April 10, 1927.

Interestingly, because of his love for this Yosemite Valley location, his ashes were scattered around the Half Dome.

In 2012, the cable route for this iconic trail was included in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Location Of The Half Dome

The Half Dome is a granite dome structure present in the eastern end of Yosemite National Park.

As for the location of Yosemite National Park, it's in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. The park was established in 1890 and is currently managed by the National Park Service.

It's spread over an area of 759,620 acres (3,074.1 sq km) and has many popular park trails, like the Mirror Lake trail and Sentinel Dome trail. In 1984, the park was made into a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There is more than one trail to reach the Half Dome. So, you need to come up with a gameplan to tackle the trail in a way that works best for you.

The most popular trail has to be the Happy Isles trail that takes you through the Mist trail. Other than that, there's also the Happy Isles trail via the John Muir trail, Glacier Point trail, Tenaya Lake trail, Sunrise Lakes trail, Mono Meadow trail, and the Cathedral Lakes trails.

Apart from the distance and difficulty of each trail, you also need to focus on the weather.

The Half Dome in Yosemite isn't allowed to be climbed when the weather is wet due to the cable route being dangerous. When beginning from the Happy Isles trail, you will find parking at Curry Village.

The Formation Of The Half Dome

The age of this structure is believed to be from the Cretaceous Period around 93 million years ago. And, it's categorized as a granite dome.

When we think about the smooth granite surface of the Half Dome, it's always awe-inspiring to think about how such a geological structure came into being.

It's said that the Half Dome was formed due to molten, igneous rocks being solidified to form granite deep inside the Earth, and was then pushed up through the pressure that existed under the surface.

On top of that, the exposed granite was then shaped into a round dome as the uplifted layers of rock were cleaved off, especially at the joints and fissures. Due to the name of the Half Dome, people might think that half of the dome is missing, but that's not true.

Do note that these are just theories, and we still don't know how this structure was formed in the Yosemite Valley.

Rock Type And Length Of The Half Dome

As previously mentioned, the Half Dome is a granite dome and the its height is 8,846 ft (2,696 m) above sea level, and approximately 4,800 ft (1,463 m) from the Yosemite Valley.

The most common trail of the Half Dome requires a hiker to cover a distance of about 14.2 miles (22.7 km) which can take anywhere between 10-12 hours in total. The cable route itself requires you to undertake a steep climb of 400 ft (121 m).

Interestingly, the park rangers say that it's easier to go up the cable route rather than come down. The parent peak for the Half Dome is Clouds Rest, which has a total elevation of 9,930 ft (3‎,027 m).

Did you know...

Here are a few other things that you may want to know about the Half Dome:

If you take the route through Glacier Point, you may want to stop there to enjoy ice skating.

The cable route is taken down from the rock surface every October, and then it's again reinstalled before Memorial Day in May. As a result, you cannot access the park from the end of October to the middle of May.

Since the cables were erected, there have been about seven fatal falls. Around 20 deaths might have taken place on the Half Dome trails, while there have been others on the path leading up to the dome. Most of the deaths and accidents are due to improper preparation.

The Ahwahnechee people, who are locals of Yosemite, call the Half Dome, 'Tis-sa-ack,' which translates to 'cleft rock'. The name was taken from an old Native American legend. While referencing the structure, John Muir often used Half Dome, South Dome, or even Tissiac.

The logo of the popular brand, The North Face, is inspired by the rounded look of the Half Dome.

The Little Yosemite Valley campground is good for camping while hiking the Half Dome.

The Half Done is considered to be a geological monolith.