1909 Map of Yosemite

About this map

The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and the nascent infrastructure of the Sierra Nevada mountains define this early 20th-century landscape. Following surveys conducted in the 1890s, this map documents the region before many modern developments, showing the early Hetch Hetchy Dam and the primary drainage of the Tuolumne River and Merced River. Remote outposts and early administrative sites such as the Hog Ranch Ranger Sta and Mariposa Grove Ranger Sta appear alongside pioneer homesteads like Harden Ranch. The transition from local ranching to federal management is evident as the Yosemite National Park boundary encompasses geological landmarks like Half Dome and Bridalveil Falls. Travelers of the era relied on the Tioga Road and the Wawona Road to navigate between settlements like El Portal and Wawona, which served as critical staging points for exploring the high country.