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Yosemite from airplane?

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Yosemite from airplane?

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Old Oct 26th, 2019 | 10:00 AM
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Yosemite from airplane?


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?
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Old Oct 26th, 2019 | 10:20 AM
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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.

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Old Oct 26th, 2019 | 12:37 PM
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I would say yes, this is Yosemite. Hard to say from this angle which is Half Dome.
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Old Oct 26th, 2019 | 08:10 PM
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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+'.






Last edited by Nelson; Oct 26th, 2019 at 08:12 PM.
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Old Oct 27th, 2019 | 03:49 AM
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How amazing! Thanks Nelson!
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Old Oct 27th, 2019 | 08:44 AM
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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.
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Old Oct 27th, 2019 | 09:10 AM
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I think it is A also.
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Old Oct 27th, 2019 | 09:24 AM
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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.




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Old Oct 27th, 2019 | 09:39 AM
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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
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Old Oct 27th, 2019 | 10:03 AM
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Thanks for the input, I’ll study these this evening. Flight is the 9:45 am or so United flight Denver to Monterey. If you can line up the Ivanpah circular solar array in SW Nevada with the 40 acre parcel in the Central Valley that spells out Trump in huge letters you will get the flight path.

Last edited by tom_mn; Oct 27th, 2019 at 10:05 AM.
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Old Oct 27th, 2019 | 12:09 PM
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Here's a view about 5 minutes earlier, where only one hump appears to be large enough to be Half Dome.
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Old Oct 27th, 2019 | 03:34 PM
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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.
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Old Oct 27th, 2019 | 06:50 PM
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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.





Mount Watkins Yosemite
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Old Oct 27th, 2019 | 08:29 PM
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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.
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Old Oct 28th, 2019 | 05:33 AM
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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.
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Old Oct 28th, 2019 | 08:20 AM
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So having “seen” Half Dome the only thing left on my California bucket list is a sequoia tree, perhaps satisfied later this week, work load (and wildfire) allowing.

Just kidding, will make a proper Yosemite visit when the waterfalls are flowing.

Last edited by tom_mn; Oct 28th, 2019 at 08:25 AM.
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Old Oct 28th, 2019 | 01:10 PM
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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.
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Old Oct 28th, 2019 | 01:14 PM
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You have to see both kinds of sequoia: the coastal and giant (in the Sierra Nevada)

Last edited by MichelleY; Oct 28th, 2019 at 01:29 PM.
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Old Oct 28th, 2019 | 05:19 PM
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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/
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Old Oct 29th, 2019 | 10:18 AM
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If I zoom into the 1st picture I think I can see the sequoia groves in Yosemite. Check another one off the bucket list....
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