Half Dome, or South Dome, as it is sometimes called, rises at the head of the Yosemite Valley to the height of 4,892 feet above the valley floor. It forms the eastern terminus of the Valley. It is one of the wonders of the natural world, and is a unique thing in mountain scenery. Sweeping up 3,000 feet, its walls bear only a few pine trees. Above this it ascends perpendicularly nearly 2,000 feet straight into the sky, while its rounded summit falls steeply curved on the opposite side. It has been described as “incomparably the most wonderful, striking and impressive feature of the region. In strangeness of shape this hemispherical mountain of solid granite is singular among the world’s geological marvels, and its sublime height and firm soaring outline impose it upon the imagination more than would be possible to bulk alone. From every part of the upper half of the Valley the eye is compelled, as if by force of physical attraction, to return to this extraordinary mountain, which one can never tire of contemplating. One looks upon it as one would gaze at some majestic fragment of statuary.” Half Dome was first ascended in 1875 by George Anderson. He practically pulled himself to the summit by means of a rope attached to iron pegs driven in the rock. He inserted his bolts five or six feet apart, and made his rope fast to each in succession, resting his feet on the last bolt while he drilled a hole for the next above. He accomplished his ascent in a few days; and he hoped to complete a stairway, so that tourists might ascend the Dome. But while he was preparing timber for his stairway he was taken sick, and died all alone in his little cabin. To the east of El Capitan are the peaks named the Three Brothers, the highest of which, known also as Eagle Peak, is a favorite viewpoint. Glacier Point is another frequently visited peak. It is in many respects the finest point of vantage from which to view the Valley. Opposite is Washington Column, and immediately to the westward of this are the Royal Arches, formed of curious curved layers of rock, firmly recessed, where gigantic displacements have produced a strange vaulted effect. Over these towers North Dome, polished and gray, rises in a perfect curve 3,571 feet above the Valley. It is the best exhibition of the round head rock formation that is so marked a feature of this region.