Saturday, April 14, 2012

The Yosemite Conservancy has reportedly moved it's webcam page. When I double-checked the "new" link to the previous one I had - http://www.yosemiteconservancy.org/webcams - they matched, so maybe the info isn't exactly new. Those who have some enjoyment of that wonderful Valley may enjoy drooling over the images over coffee, or lunch, or dinner later in the day. 

The Ahwahnee Meadow cam is looking east at Half Dome on the Valley floor, east of Yosemite Village, and gives a decent idea of what conditions there are like (especially when teamed up with the one noted in the paragraph below). The first one, Turtleback Dome, is located on the open dome above Hy. 41, west of the long Wawona Tunnel, looking back into the valley. The 4th webcam is also there, looking west.

There is also one MORE webcam, operated by the USGS. The location is at Happy Isles, where the Merced River spills into the Valley east of Curry Village - http://ca.water.usgs.gov/webcams/happyisles/ - and that little building the lens at is their automated monitoring station (scroll down the page to see the river flow, as well as the history of the gaging station. The two parameters monitored at this station - http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/staMeta?station_id=HIB - cover the river's flow rate (cubic feet of water per second = cfs) and depth (in feet).  Anyone familiar with the spring/summer flow of the river will recognize the "diurnal fluctuation" in the graph, the change between day and nighttime flows, caused by melting snows much higher up in elevation, which doesn't instantly appear miles below in the valley. There have been times when campers went to bed cozy and happy, and awoke at midnight being getting flooded...or when otherwise empty campgrounds are seemingly left empty on purpose, for no apparent, good reason. The highest flows are actually in the middle of the night, and lowest in mid-day, rising and falling once a day almost like a tide.

Enjoy.... 

Best Wishes...