YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA

The floor of the tributary valley out of which the waterfall emerges is elevated well above the floor of the main valley and is separated from it by a steep cliff. The tributary valley (called a "hanging valley") used to descend gently to the main valley floor, but its lower part has been removed by the erosional activity of a large glacier that once flowed along the floor of the main valley.


© 2001
Photo by David J. Leveson