Yosemite from airplane?
 

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...11a9bcb882.jpg
Is this Yosemite Valley circled in pink? For reference Mono Lake is at extreme right, view is from the south looking north.

If this is Yosemite, is A, B, or C Half Dome? Or is it something else?

This is the most useful map I found for your purposes. Half Dome faces more or less north so from the south what you'd see is the dome rather than the face. I'll venture a guess that C is Half Dome. Google Streetview has a very good image standing on Half Dome.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2ec4d23ec1.jpg

I would say yes, this is Yosemite. Hard to say from this angle which is Half Dome.

Hard to say for sure but I'll also wager that "C" is Half Dome. "B" could be the big cliff face with Royal Arches that is directly behind the Ahwahnee Hotel.

I have fun with this so here is a map of the valley with a possible B and C labeled, and also a PeakFinder view looking north from south of Yosemite at 30,000+'.


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fae19670f2.jpg


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a2a87c1072.jpg

How amazing! Thanks Nelson!

Nelson:

Thanks! I love the profile. But studying it I think A matches the profile in your Peakfinder view, a bit flat on the top then more gradual on the sides. Also this places Half Dome where the valley widens out a bit which I think is true. So that leaves B and C to be bald granite mountaintops that appear to loom up but are actually rounded? Not really sure.

I think it is A also.

Yeah, I was having doubts too. So I moved the viewpoint farther east and took it to a lower altitude. No doubt I'm still not hat close to your location.

Now I'm thinking "B" is Half Dome and we might be able to see Mt. Starr King getting lined up in your picture. See below. I tried to climb Starr King in 1975 but turned back due to lack of proper experience.

But I think Michelle really nailed it in her first post: "yes, this is Yosemite. Hard to say from this angle which is Half Dome."

In any case, kind of fun to play with this.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6cd7678d53.jpg


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5b094eb791.jpg

If it helps, here's another aerial view from a different angle. Looking west with Mono Lake at the top. Zoomable..


I also think Half Dome might be A with Washington Column and Royal Arches to the left and North Dome at the left foot of the A. Half Dome's western side slopes gradually, and the eastern side has a 'notch' which I think is visible in tom_mn's aerial view.

https://www.rei.com/adventures/trips...ckpacking.html

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0f150ba908.jpg
Here's a view about 5 minutes earlier, where only one hump appears to be large enough to be Half Dome.

Look at Yosemite NP on maps.google.com. Satellite view, then switch to 3D view and zoom in until you get the labels for Half Dome, Clouds Rest. You can rotate.

Doing what Jean suggested (great idea) might put Half Dome just to the left of the prominent cliff you are pointing at in your second picture. See screenshot below. Those reddish colored mountains in front in your photo are possibly the Clark Range. There is a Red Peak and Red Peak Pass in there, metamorphic rock instead of granite. The prominent cliff could then be Mount Watkins. (?)

I did a trips to these places in the 70's so am finding this exercise memorably enjoyable.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...27ea01af1e.jpg


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b5092c6fa2.jpg
Mount Watkins Yosemite

So looking at the nice panorama photo it was indeed A that is Half Dome and then B/C is part of the same different formation, just to the right of the vertical labeling line pointing to Half Dome.

Yes, that seems to be the case. "A" in the original is Half Done, not my first thought. The Ahwahnee is to the left of A down in the valley.

The thing I find wonderful about those views is to see how the valley really is a "valley". I consider Yosemite one of the real wonders of the world--stunning.

And then after you've seen the biggest trees on the planet, you have to go see the oldest trees on the planet. Bristlecone Pines. If you had the time, this could be combined with a trip to Yosemite NP.

https://www.bishopvisitor.com/activi...lecone-forest/

If I zoom into the 1st picture I think I can see the sequoia groves in Yosemite. Check another one off the bucket list....