Two miles above, on the opposite side, is the row of summits, rising like steps one above another, named the Three Brothers. On the other side, in the angle of the valley, stands Sentinel Rock, so called from its fancied resemblance to a watch-tower. Three-fourths of a mile in a southerly direction from this is the Sentinel Dome, more than four thousand feet high and affording from its summit a most magnificent view. Following up the North Fork, just at the entrance of the cañon, rises the Half Dome, the grandest and loftiest in the Yosemite Valley, an inaccessible crest of granite, having an elevation--according to Prof. Brewer--of 6,000 feet. On the opposite side of the same cañon stands the North Dome, another of those rounded masses of granite so characteristic of the sierras. Appearing as a buttress to this is Washington's Column, and below this the Royal Arches, an immense arched cavity, formed by the giving way and sliding down of portions of the rock, and presenting, in the upper part, a vaulted appearance. In the angle formed by the Merced with the South Fork is the symmetrical and beautiful North Dome. This valley is the most remarkable basin thus far found in the world, and in view of its gigantic and impressive scenery we cannot but marvel at its size--a mere cup or trough in the midst of one of the sublimest of geological formations. This tiny strip of wonder-land is, as we have seen, only eight miles long and less than three-quarters of a mile average width. [Illustration: BRIDAL VEIL FALL] Beginning at the south-westerly end of the valley we first reach, in ascending it, the Bridal Veil, formed by one of the torrents that feed the Merced River. It is 1,000 feet in height, the body of water not being large, but sufficient to produce the most picturesque effect. As it is swayed backward and forward by the force of the wind, it seems to flutter like a white veil.