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Yosemite Valley is obviously famous as hell. It was carved by a glacier 10,000-15,000 years ago. Well not too far away, still inside Yosemite National Park, is Hetch Hetchy. It's the sister to Yosemite, and John Muir himself said that next to Yosemite Valley it was the second most beautiful place he'd seen.
Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well dam for water-tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.
- John Muir
Painting from 1870
After the 1906 Earthquake in San Fran they realized/decided that their water supply was inadequate so they dammed up the Tuolumne River and instead of being another natural treasure it is now a 300 ft deep reservoir.
Since 1987 there has been a growing push to open the dam and restore the valley. The lost water storage capacity could be regained by raising the level of another reservoir downstream by 30 ft and they power generation capability could be shifted to two other power stations.... but don't hold your breath.
Anyway, that's my random shit for the day. Over and out.
Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well dam for water-tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.
- John Muir
Painting from 1870
After the 1906 Earthquake in San Fran they realized/decided that their water supply was inadequate so they dammed up the Tuolumne River and instead of being another natural treasure it is now a 300 ft deep reservoir.
Water from Hetch Hetchy is some of the cleanest municipal water in the United States; San Francisco is one of six U.S. cities not required by law to filter its tap water,
Since 1987 there has been a growing push to open the dam and restore the valley. The lost water storage capacity could be regained by raising the level of another reservoir downstream by 30 ft and they power generation capability could be shifted to two other power stations.... but don't hold your breath.
The National Park Service concluded that two years after draining the valley, grasses would cover most of its floor and within 10 years, clumps of cone-bearing trees and some oaks would take root. Within 50 years, vegetative cover would be complete except for exposed rocky areas. In this unmanaged scenario, where nature is left to take hold in the valley, eventually a forest would grow, rather than the meadow being restored. However, the same NPS study also finds that with intensive management, an outcome in which "the entire valley would appear much as it did before construction of the reservoir" is feasible
Anyway, that's my random shit for the day. Over and out.
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