In this video, our roads and trails crew work to clear one of many rockslides that occurred in spring 2023 along the Big Oak Flat Road with drilling, blasting, and heavy equipment.
In April of 2018, spring flooding occurred in Yosemite Valley. Footage from different areas within the valley are shown in this video. During this event, Yosemite experienced significant impacts from a strong storm that came in from the Pacific. Impacts included 2 to 4 feet of water on roads within Yosemite Valley, impacts to the electrical system, and impacts to water systems.
The Merced River in Yosemite Valley reached flood stage at Pohono Bridge (above 10 feet) in January 2017 when a winter storm brought significant rainfall to the area. The river peaked at 12.7 feet and although there was no major flooding in Yosemite Valley, both roads and infrastructure (water systems, sewer systems, etc.) were impacted.
In the spring of 2006, a rockslide buried a section of Highway 140 just outside of Yosemite National Park. The slide remained highly active for many days, allowing rare views of a rockslide in motion. The rockslide has been bypassed with temporary bridges, allowing Highway 140 to remain open. This footage was shot after the main rockslide, but while movement was still occurring.
Floods in Yosemite Valley aren't uncommon during spring, when the Merced River swells with melted snow. The largest, least common floods occur during winter. See what the Valley looked like during the large floods in May 1996 and the famously historic 100-year flood in January 1997.
Footage taken after the 1996 rockfall at Happy Isles. On July 10, two blocks with a combined volume of about 30,000 cubic meters and weighing about 90,000 tons broke loose from near Glacier Point, hitting the valley floor near Happy Isles. The impacts generated an airblast with wind speeds up to 280 miles per hr. The wind uprooted and snapped about one thousand trees, which damaged buildings and caused one fatality and several serious injuries. A dense cloud of pulverized rock blanketed the area with dust.
