Explore Yosemite

On June 30, 1864, in the middle of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln signed a bill giving Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias to California to be held for public use. It was the first time the federal government set land aside specifically to be preserved and enjoyed, and it became the model for Yellowstone eight years later. Congress created Yosemite National Park in 1890.

The granite dome at right is Half Dome, about 8,800 feet above sea level. George Anderson first reached the top in October 1875 by drilling iron eyebolts into the rock, and the steel cables hikers use today went up in 1919.

The picture is a travel poster in warm greens and ochres: tall dark pines frame the left side, a canvas tent sits in the meadow with a thread of smoke rising from the campfire beside it, and across the valley Half Dome catches late gold light under heaped clouds. The title, Explore Yosemite, and the line Echoes of the Frontier are set in cream capitals across the foreground.