Yosemite

Meanings

1. 1proper nounproperAmerican

   A national park in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, famous for its granite cliffs, waterfalls and giant sequoia trees.

   Grammar: Proper noun, usually without an article: we visited Yosemite.

   Patterns

   • visit Yosemite
   • hike in Yosemite

   We camped in Yosemite for a week and hiked to a waterfall every day.

   Half Dome is one of the best-known sights in Yosemite.

   Yosemite attracts millions of visitors each year.

2. 2proper nounproperAmerican

   The valley within that park, carved by glaciers, with steep walls on each side.

   Grammar: Often written Yosemite Valley when it means the valley itself.

   Patterns

   • Yosemite Valley
   • the floor of Yosemite

   Cars crawl along the road through Yosemite Valley in summer.

   Climbers come from all over the world to scale the walls of Yosemite.

   A river winds across the flat floor of Yosemite.

Common combinations

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park is open all year.

Yosemite Valley

We drove into Yosemite Valley before sunrise.

Yosemite Falls

Yosemite Falls is at its strongest in spring.

trip to Yosemite

Their trip to Yosemite was the highlight of the summer.

hike in Yosemite

The best hike in Yosemite starts at dawn.

Synonyms and how they differ

Yosemite National Park

This is the full official name, while Yosemite alone is the usual shorter form.

Yosemite Valley

The valley is only one part of the park, whereas Yosemite can mean the whole area.

Word family

Yosemite Valley proper noun

the main glacial valley in the park

Yosemite Falls proper noun

a very tall waterfall in the park

Half Dome proper noun

a famous granite rock in the park

El Capitan proper noun

a giant granite cliff in the park

Commonly confused: Yosemite or Yellowstone?

Practice

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