Geography of the Yosemite area Geography of the Yosemite area Yosemite National Park is located in the central Sierra Nevada of California. Three wilderness areas are adjacent to Yosemite: the Ansel Adams Wilderness to the southeast, the Hoover Wilderness to the northeast, and the Emigrant Wilderness to the north. The park is roughly the size of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and contains thousands of lakes and ponds, of streams, of hiking trails, and of roads. Two federally designated Wild and Scenic Rivers, the Merced and the Tuolumne, begin within Yosemite's borders and flow westward through the Sierra foothills, into the Central Valley of
History of the Yosemite area park over the summer of 1970, triggering a riot on July 4 after rangers tried to evict visitors from camping illegally in Stoneman Meadow. Rioters attacked the rangers with rocks, and pulled mounted rangers from their horses. The National Guard was brought in to restore order. The Yosemite Park and Curry Company was bought by Music Corporation of America (MCA) in 1973. In 1988, concessionaires brought in $500 million ($ as of 2019), and paid the federal government $12.5 million ($ as of 2019) for the franchise. Delaware North Companies became the primary concessionaire for Yosemite in 1992. The agreement