At the head of the Yosemite, it divides into three narrow tributary canyons, each discharging a stream, which uniting form the Merced. The northernmost is the Tenaya, and overshadowing it rises the huge North Dome, more than thirty-seven hundred feet high, having as an outlying spur the Washington Column. Opposite, and forming the eastern boundary of the valley, is the South or Half Dome, of singular shape, towering almost five thousand feet, and like El Capitan, at the other extremity, being a most remarkable granitic cliff. Its top is inaccessible, although once it was scaled by an adventurous explorer by means of a rope attached to pegs driven into the rock. It is one of the most extraordinarily formed mountains in existence, standing up tall, gaunt and almost square against the sky, the dominating pinnacle of the upper valley. Upon the southern side rises Glacier Point, nearly thirty-four hundred feet, giving a splendid view over the valley, having to the westward the Sentinel Dome, nearly forty-three hundred feet high, ending in the conspicuous face of the Sentinel Rock. Thus environed by vast cliffs, this grand valley displays magnificent scenery. Within the upper canyons are also attractions, that of the Merced River, the central gorge displaying the Vernal and Nevada waterfalls. The Vernal Fall is seventy feet wide and descends three hundred and fifty feet, having behind it the Cap of Liberty, a picturesque cliff. Farther up the river is the Nevada Fall, a superb cataract, having a slightly sloping descent of six hundred feet. Just within Tenaya Canyon is the Mirror Lake, remarkable for its wonderful reflections of the North and South Domes and adjacent mountains. Some distance to the eastward is the Cloud's Rest, a peak rising more than six thousand feet above the valley and nearly ten thousand feet above sea-level, that is ascended for its splendid view of the surrounding mountains and the enclosing walls of the valley, which can be plainly seen throughout its length, stretching far away towards the setting sun. This view of the Yosemite surpasses all others in its comprehensiveness and grandeur. THE ROCKIES