An Example to Get You Started -
In March, 1851 Major James Savage of the newly commissioned Mariposa Battalion led troops after natives who had raided several area mining camps, including three of Savage's trading posts. The company went west from Mariposa in the Sierra foothills to Wawona and then north in pursuit of the Indians. They entered Yosemite Valley on March 25, becoming the first Europeans to visit the valley itself. This first entry into Yosemite Valley was followed two months later by another of Savage's units led by Capt. John Boling and then again in June, 1852 by U.S. infantry troops under the command of Lt. Tredwell Moore. Each of these expeditions, of what became known as the Mariposa Indian Wars, broadened awareness of the Yosemite region as you can see in the
reports from the field.
Open your GIS software and load the Yosemite project file. Zoom in on the park
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My World
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ArcGIS
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• You can use the Zoom in tool (  ) to zero in on the park and the series of eary trails or ...
• Set the Map View in the tool bar to Yosemite:
• Click ( ) to display the following layers.:
- Mariposa Indian Wars
- Places
- Place Names
Turn the other Trail layers off.
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• You can use the Zoom in tool ( ) to zero in on the park and the series of eary trails or ...
• Select Bookmarks >> Yosemite in the main menu.
• Check the Early Trails group and the Mariposa Indian War layer on. . Click the plus sign to display the legend:
Turn the other Early Trails layers off.
• Check the Places layer on. Right click on the layer name, select Properties... and click on the Labels tab. Double check to see that the Label features in this layer option is checked:
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You can use the measurement tool that is part of your software (
) to determine distance in miles along any path on the map. Click to select the tool. Click the cross hairs on Mariposa and then click at intervals along the route that Major Savage followed into Yosemite Valley. Double click at the end of the route. The approximate distance is 52 miles.
The entry of Major Savage's group into Yosemite Valley was recorded in the journal of the company's doctor, Lafayette H. Bunnell. The doctor described the company's descent into Yosemite Valley down the Pohono Trail, opposite El Capitan. You can use the available link on the map to view a Thomas Hill painting of the sight that Dr. Bunnell described.
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My World
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ArcGIS
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• Select the Link tool (  ).
• Aim at the base of the flag on the Savage trail and click to open the Mariposa Indian Wars: Savage link..
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• Select the Link tool (  ).
• Aim anywhere along the Savage trail and click to open the link..
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For another view of this rugged descent zoom to the Topographic Map layer and examine the new map with the battalion's route overlaid:
You can see the 4000 foot mark at the bottom of the valley. The interval between the major, darker, contour lines is 500 feet. It is 100 feet between each of the lighter lines. Counting up from the bottom to the level of Ft. Monroe you can see that the ride to the bottom of the valley involved an approximate 2400 feet change in elevation. A check of the distance shows the ride to be about 4.5 miles down the switchbacks and more gently along the contours to the river below.
To Start You Thinking -
Imagine that you were part of the first company of Europeans to descend into Yosemite Valley. Use the various map tools and photos introduced above and write your own short narrative of your group's discovery.
You are ready now for the Yosemite’s Early Trails worksheet and other early descriptions of travels in the park. Enjoy your trip.
