The Merced continues to the northwest for where collects into Merced Lake. Leaving Merced Lake, the river continues to the west northwest for where the canyons open up into Echo Valley. The river then turns generally westward for another , where it snakes through a spectacular narrow gorge between massive, glacially resistant granite cliffs. The gorge opens up after Bunnell Point and Sugarloaf Dome confine the river to form Bunnell Cascade, before turning southward through the Lost Valley of the Merced, and then spills over a granite cliff into Little Yosemite Valley, named for its resemblance to Yosemite Valley downstream.