National park as the "Father of the National Parks" due to his work in Yosemite. He published two influential articles in The Century Magazine, which formed the base for the subsequent legislation. President Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of Congress on 1 July 1864, ceding the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias (later becoming Yosemite National Park) to the state of California. According to this bill, private ownership of the land in this area was no longer possible. The state of California was designated to manage the park for "public use, resort, and recreation". Leases were permitted for up
Little Yosemite Valley their leeward side. Half Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park located at the northwestern end of Little Yosemite Valley at — possibly Yosemite's most familiar rock formation. The granite crest rises more than above the Yosemite Valley floor at Tenaya Canyon and above the floor of Little Yosemite Valley. The trail to Half Dome branches to the north from the main Little Yosemite Valley trail near the ranger station, out houses and campground. Moraine Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park along the northern margin of Little Yosemite Valley at which rises to an elevation