Transcription:
4 the entire region above Yosemite as far down as the bottom of Yosemite, has scarcely been touched by any other denudation
than that of ice Perhaps all of the post glacial denudation of every kind would not average an inch in depth for the whole
region Yosemite Hetch Hetchy are lake basins filled with sand, the matter of Moraines washed from the upper canons, the Yosemite
ice in escaping from the Yosemite basin was compelled to follow upward a considerable height on both sides of the bottom walls
of the valley. The canon below the valley is very crooked very narrow, the Yosemite glacier flowed across all of its crooks
high above its walls without paying any compliance to it thus the light-lines show the direction drawing with writing of ice
current In going up any of the prin- cipal Yosem streams. lakes in all stages of decay are found in great abundance, regularly
becoming younger untill we reach the almost countless gems of the summits with scarce an inch of care upon their shallow sandy
borders, with their bottoms still bright with the polish of ice, Upon the Nevada its branches there is not fewer than a hundred
of these glacial lakes from a mile to a hundred yds in diameter with countless glistering pondlets not much larger than moons
All of the grand fir forests about the valley are planted upon moraines, from any of the mtn tops the shape extent of the
neighboring moraines may always be surely determined by the firs growing upon them some pines will grow upon shallow sand
crumbling granite but those luxuriant forests of the silver firs are always upon a generous bed of glacial drift. I discovered
a moraine with smooth pebbles upon the shoulder of the South Dome upon every part of the Yosemite upper lower walls level
enough to hold moraines. I am surprised to find that water has had so little to do with mountain structure here. Whitney says
that there is no proof that glaciers ever flowed in this valley yet its walls have not been eroded to the depth of an inch
since the ice left it glacial action is glaringly apparent many miles below John Muir