Yosemite Valley, CA

Yosemite Valley is a census-designated place in Mariposa County, California, United States. The 2020 census counted 337 residents. Yosemite Valley consists of Yosemite Village, the main developed area, together with adjacent areas of the Yosemite Valley within Yosemite National Park. That same year, Congress passed the Yosemite Grant Act, granting the valley and the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias to the state of California to be held as public trust — an early model for what would become the national park system. Yosemite Valley makes sense once you see how its past, landscape, and current gathering spots overlap.

ATTRStarlingjon ( talk ) / CC BY-SA 3.0

The useful thing to know about Yosemite Valley is that its older landmarks and current settings belong to one connected place. The first US post office opened in 1869, originally named "Yo Semite"; the spelling was changed to "Yosemite" in 1908 and to "Yosemite National Park" in 1922. The Merced River flows westward through the center of the CDP. Yosemite has a Mediterranean climate, meaning most precipitation falls during the mild winter, and the other seasons are nearly dry.