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[clustered] with staminate flrs [flowers] [ ] [ ] the best general view of 2nd Yo[semite] is from a flat topped portion of the small [plateau] opposite the Cone of Starr King, from these not only its rocks but the greater portion of its groves & meadows can be seen in splendid combinations. The walls of the Valley in a scientific sense reach back to the top of the ridge between SD [South Dome] & Clds Rest [Clouds Rest] on the N [North] & to the top of the ridge between Mt. Clark & Starr King [on] S but in a narrow & [specializing] sense they are composed of rocks wh [which] [abut] close upon the flat bottom of the Valley [ ] rocks are [sufficient] near to form a [fully] well defined wall & are very noble in form & size & also in - [Sculpture] & [adoring] of trees, shrubs etc all of these rocks show glacial action a marked degree on the N side the first rock [that] properly belongs to the Valley is a low dome that is so compact in structure that it (snow on S ½ mil & [ ] [jagged] pts 8770 [ ] [ ] [ ]) looks like a half sunken boulder. It owes its existence to its hardness & seamlessness the dazzling brightness of its striated surface attesting the greatness of the pressure of the gl [glacier] wh [which] oversweeps it the next on the same side come forward with a very [precipitous] & deeply sculpted front the deepest sculptures have been accomplished by the great earthquake wh [which] shook all these mtns [mountains] 3 or 400 yrs [years] ago the blocks at base show the quantity of chips due to this cause, the [ ] & rounded sculptures & absence of debris mark the slow & noiseless action of the ice both of these forces guided by the chg [change] of the rock acted upon just as a dull wedge is guided by the grain of the wood it is driven into This 2nd rock has a long extended side [forming] [the] [ ] [ ] [swells] in beautiful strength & simplicity & [regularity] sloping away from the level [gray] [ ] [ ] at base at an angle of 24° this escarpment shows ice action in a very marked degree & [moving] the next rock an the same side presents a somewhat broken head looking down the valley with a long side extended up in the gen [general] direction of the valley, this forming a very
Date Original
1873
Source
Original journal dimensions: 15 x 18 cm.
Resource Identifier
MuirReel24Journal02FromBackP11-12.tif
Publisher
Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library
Rights Management
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Keywords
John Muir, journals, drawings, writings, travel, journaling, naturalist
