tion that the solid inner
body drops no faster than the outer spray. It is long before the
wondering observer perceives that he is the victim of an illusion; that
the water falls normally; that it appears to descend with less than
natural speed only because of the extreme height of the fall, the eye
naturally applying standards to which it has been accustomed in viewing
falls of ordinary size.

On windy days the Upper Fall swings from the brink like a pendulum of
silver and mist. Back and forth it lashes like a horse's tail. The gusts
lop off puffy clouds of mist which dissipate in air. Muir tells of
powerful winter gales driving head on against the cliff, which break the
fall in its middle and hold it in suspense. Once he saw the wind double
the fall back over its own brink. Muir, by the way, once tried to pass
behind the Upper Fall at its foot, but was nearly crushed.

By contrast with the lofty temperamental Upper Fall, the Lower Fall
appears a smug and steady pigmy. In such company, for both are always
seen together, it is hard to realize that the Lower Fall is twice the
height of Niagara. Comparing Yosemite's three most conspicuous features,
these gigantic falls seem to appeal even more to the imagination than to
the sense of beauty. El Capitan, on the other hand, suggests majesty,
order, proportion, and power; it has its many devotees. Half Dome
suggests mystery; to many it symbolizes worship. Of these three, Half
Dome easily is the most popular.

Three more will complete the Valley's list of notable waterfalls. All
of these lie up the Merced Canyon. Illilouette, three hundred and
seventy feet in height, enters from the west, a frothing fall of great
beauty, hard to see. Vernal and Nevada Falls carry the Merced River over
steep steps in its rapid progress from the upper levels to the valley
floor. The only exception to the valley type, Vernal Fall, which some
consider the most beautiful of all, and which certainly is the
prettiest, is a curtain of water three hundred and seventeen feet high,
and of pleasing breadth. The Nevada Fall, three-fifths of a mile above,
a majestic drop of nearly six hundred feet, shoots watery rockets from
its brink. It is full-run, powerful, impressive, and highly
individualized. With many it is the favorite waterfall of Yosemite.

In sharp contrast with these valley scenes is the view from Glacier
Point down into the Merced and Tenaya Canyons, and out over the magical
park landscape