Half Dome is a

granite dome Granite domes are domical hills composed of granite with bare rock exposed over most of the surface. Generally, domical features such as these are known as bornhardts. Bornhardts can form in any type of plutonic rock but are typically composed o ...

at the eastern end of

Yosemite Valley Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California. The valley is about long and deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Hal ...

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ...

, California. It is a well-known rock formation in the park, named for its distinct shape. One side is a sheer face while the other three sides are smooth and round, making it appear like a dome cut in half. The

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

crest rises more than above the

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

floor.

Geology

The impression from the valley floor that this is a round dome that has lost its northwest half, is just an illusion. From Washburn Point, Half Dome can be seen as a thin ridge of rock, an

arête An arête ( ) is a narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequ ...

, that is oriented northeast–southwest, with its southeast side almost as steep as its northwest side except for the very top. Although the trend of this ridge, as well as that of Tenaya Canyon, is probably controlled by master

joints A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

, 80 percent of the northwest "half" of the original dome may well still be there.

Ascents

As late as the 1870s, Half Dome was described as "perfectly inaccessible" by

Josiah Whitney Josiah Dwight Whitney (November 23, 1819 – August 18, 1896) was an American geologist, professor of geology at Harvard University (from 1865), and chief of the California Geological Survey (1860–1874). Through his travels and studies in the ...

of the California Geological Survey. The summit was finally reached by George G. Anderson in October 1875, via a route constructed by drilling and placing iron eye bolts into the smooth granite. Anderson had previously tried a variety of methods, including using pitch from nearby pine trees for extra friction. Anderson subsequently went on to add ropes to his eye bolts, so that other people could climb. Among those who took advantage was the first woman to climb Half Dome in 1876, S. L. Dutcher, of San Francisco. In 1877

James Mason Hutchings James Mason Hutchings (February 10, 1820 – October 31, 1902) was an American businessman and one of the principal promoters of what is now Yosemite National Park. Biography Born in Towcester in England, Hutchings immigrated to the U.S. i ...

along with Anderson led a climb which included Hutchings' daughter Cosie, his son Willie, his mother-in-law Florence Sproat (aged 65), and two other women. Today, Half Dome may be ascended in several different ways. Thousands of hikers reach the top each year by following an trail from the valley floor. After a rigorous approach, including several hundred feet of granite stairs, the final pitch up the peak's steep but somewhat rounded east face is ascended with the aid of a pair of post-mounted steel cables originally constructed close to the Anderson route in 1919. Alternatively, over a dozen rock climbing

route Route or routes may refer to: * Route (gridiron football), a path run by a wide receiver * route (command), a program used to configure the routing table * Route, County Antrim, an area in Northern Ireland * ''The Route'', a 2013 Ugandan film * Ro ...

s lead from the valley up Half Dome's vertical northwest face. The first technical ascent was in 1957 via a route pioneered by

Royal Robbins Royal Robbins (February 3, 1935 – March 14, 2017) was one of the pioneers of American rock climbing. After learning to climb at Tahquitz Rock, he went on to make first ascents of many big wall routes in Yosemite. As an early proponent of bol ...

, Mike Sherrick, and Jerry Gallwas, today known as the Regular Northwest Face. Their five-day epic was the first Grade VI climb in the United States. Their route has now been

free climb Free climbing is a form of rock climbing in which the climber may use climbing equipment such as ropes and other means of climbing protection, but only to protect against injury during falls and not to assist vertical or horizontal progress. Th ...

ed several times in a few hours' time. Other technical routes ascend the south face and the west shoulder.

Hiking the Cable Route

The Half Dome Cable Route hike runs from the valley floor to the top of the dome in (via the Mist Trail), with of elevation gain. The length and difficulty of the trail used to keep it less crowded than other park trails, but in recent years the trail traffic has grown to as many as 800 people a day. The hike can be done from the valley floor in a single long day, but many people break it up by camping overnight in

Little Yosemite Valley Little Yosemite Valley is a smaller glacial valley upstream in the Merced River drainage from the Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park. The Merced River meanders through the long flat valley, draining out over Nevada Fall and Vernal Fall ...

. The trail climbs past

Vernal Fall Vernal Fall is a waterfall on the Merced River just downstream of Nevada Fall in Yosemite National Park, California. Like its upstream neighbor, Vernal Fall is clearly visible at a distance, from Glacier Point, as well as close up, along the M ...

and Nevada Fall, then continues into Little Yosemite Valley, then north to the base of the northeast ridge of Half Dome itself. The final ascent is steeply up the rock between two steel cables used as handholds. The cables are fixed with bolts in the rock and raised onto a series of metal poles in late May (the poles do not anchor the cables). The cables are taken down from the poles for the winter in early October, but they are still fixed to the rock surface and can be used. The National Park Service recommends against climbing the route when the cables are down or when the surface of the rock is wet and slippery. The ''Cable Route'' is rated class 3, while the same face away from the cables is rated class 5. The Cable Route can be crowded. In past years, as many as 1,000 hikers per day have climbed the dome on a summer weekend, and about 50,000 hikers climb it every year. Since 2011, all hikers who intend to ascend the Cable Route must now obtain permits before entering the park when the cables are up between May and October. Permits are checked by a ranger on the trail, and no hikers without permits are allowed to hike beyond the base of the sub-dome or to the bottom of the cables. Hikers caught bypassing the rangers to visit either the sub-dome or main dome without a permit face fines of up to $5,000 and/or 6 months in jail. Backpackers with an appropriate wilderness permit can receive a Half Dome permit when they pick up their wilderness permit with no additional reservation required. Rock climbers who reach the top of Half Dome without entering the subdome area can descend on the Half Dome Trail without a permit. The top of Half Dome is a large, flat area where climbers can relax and enjoy their accomplishment. The summit offers views of the surrounding areas, including Little Yosemite Valley and the Valley Floor. A notable location to one side of Half Dome is the "Diving Board", where Ansel Adams took his photograph '' Monolith, the Face of Half Dome'' on April 10, 1927. Often confused with "the Visor," a small overhanging ledge at the summit, the Diving Board is on the shoulder of Half Dome. From 1919 when the cables were erected through 2011, there have been seven fatal falls from the cables. The latest fatality occurred on September 5, 2019. Lightning strikes can be a risk while on or near the summit. On July 27, 1985, five hikers were struck by lightning, resulting in two fatalities. The Cable Route was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2012.

Trivia

The ashes of Ansel Adams, whose photographs of the formation are iconic images, were scattered on Half Dome.

Notable ascents

* 1875 (October 12) George G. Anderson via drilled spikes on the east slope. *1875 (before November 10)

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist ...

* 1946 ''Salathe Route'' on southwest face (IV 5.7 A3), FA by John Salathe and Anton Nelson * 1957 ''Northwest Face'' (VI 5.8 A3), FA by

, Jerry Gallwas and Mike Sherrick. First Grade VI in North America. * 1963 ''Direct Northwest Face'' (VI 5.9 A5), FA by

and Dick McCracken *1969 ''Tis-sa-ack'' (VI 5.9 A4), FA by

and Don Peterson. * 1973 First "clean ascent" of NW face by Dennis Hennek, Doug Robinson, and Galen Rowell, Hennek is on the cover of June 1974 National Geographic leading a nut protected traverse see Super Topo too * 1987 ''The Big Chill'' (VI 5.9 A4), FA by

Jim Bridwell Jim Bridwell (July 29, 1944 – February 16, 2018) was an American rock climber and mountaineer, active since 1965, especially in Yosemite Valley, but also in Patagonia and Alaska. He was noted for pushing the standards of both free clim ...

, Peter Mayfield, Sean Plunkett and Steve Bosque * 1989 ''Shadows'' (VI 5.10 A5), FA by

, Charles Row, Cito Kirkpatrick, William Westbay * 1989 ''Kali Yuga'' (VI 5.10 A4+), FA by

John Middendorf John Middendorf (born April 13, 1959, in New York City) is a big wall climber and designer of climbing equipment. In the 1980s, he climbed the hardest walls of Yosemite (including El Capitan and Half Dome), and in 1992 he climbed the largest rock ...

, Walt Shipley * 1997 ''Blue Shift'' (VI 5.11c a4) FA by Jay Smith and Karl McConachie. Half Dome in Yosemite Valley

Notable free climbs

* 1964 ''Salathe Route'' (5.10), FFA by Frank Sacherer, Bob Kamps & Andy Lichtman * 1965 ''Snake Dike'' (5.7), FFA by Eric Beck,

and Chris Fredericks * 1976 ''Regular Northwest Face, Higbee variation'' (VI 5.12d) by Art Higbee and Jim Erickson. * 1985 ''The Autobahn'' (5.11+/5.12a) by

and Charles Cole. * 1988 ''Southern Belle'' (V 5.12d) by Dave Schultz and Scott Cosgrove * 2008 ''Regular Northwest Face, Higbee variation'' (VI 5.12a, 23 pitches), free solo climb by

Alex Honnold Alexander Honnold (born August 17, 1985) is an American rock climber best known for his free solo ascents of big walls. Honnold rose to prominence in June 2017 when he became the first person to free solo El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, a ...

In culture

Half Dome was originally called "''Tis-sa-ack''", meaning Cleft Rock in the language of the local Ahwahnechee people. Tis-sa-ack is also the name of the fourth route on the formation, ascended by

and Don Peterson over eight days in October 1969. Tis-sa-ack is the name of a mother from a native legend. The face seen in Half Dome is supposed to be hers. Tis-sa-ack is the name of a

Mono Lake Paiute The Kucadikadi are a band of Northern Paiute people who live near Mono Lake in Mono County, California. They are the southernmost band of Northern Paiute.Fowler and Liljeblad 437Arkush, Brooke S"Historic Northern Paiute Winter Houses in Mono Basi ...

girl in the Yosemite Native American legend. John Muir interchangeably used "Tissiack," "South Dome," and "Half Dome" in his writings. Others say

Ahwahneechee The Ahwahnechee are a Native American people who traditionally lived in the Yosemite Valley and still live in surrounding area. They are the seven tribes of Yosemite Miwok, Northern Paiute, Kucadikadi Mono Lake people. As one of the most docum ...

Native Americans named Half Dome "Face of a Young Woman Stained with Tears" ("Tis-se’-yak") because of the colonies of brown-black lichens that form dark vertical drip-like stripes along drainage tracks in the rock faces.Lichens in relation to management issues in the Sierra Nevada national parks, McCune, B., J. Grenon, and E. Martin, L. Mutch, Sierra Nevada Network, Cooperative agreement CA9088A0008. Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, California

/ref>

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

's 1900 short story "Dutch Courage" tells of a fictional climb of Half Dome. Half Dome was used as the logo for a software company,

Sierra On-Line Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game genr ...

. In 1971,

outdoor recreation Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...

and climbing equipment company

The North Face The North Face is an American outdoor recreation products company. The North Face produces outdoor clothing, footwear, and related equipment. Founded in 1968 to supply climbers, the company's logo draws inspiration from Half Dome, in Yosemite ...

created their company

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...

, based upon a stylised depiction of the Half Dome formation. It is still their logo 50 years later. In 1988, Half Dome was featured on a 25 cent United States postage stamp. An image of Half Dome, along with

and the

California condor The California condor (''Gymnogyps californianus'') is a New World vulture and the largest North American land bird. It became extinct in the wild in 1987 when all remaining wild individuals were captured, but has since been reintroduced to nort ...

, appears on the California State Quarter, released in January 2005. From 2010 until the introduction of REAL ID, California

driver's licenses A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public r ...

featured an illustration of Half Dome.
Driver License & Identification Card Verification Guide

References

External links

Half Dome Day Hike on the NPS website

Geologic Story of Yosemite National Park
by N. King Huber, USGS (adapted PD source) *
Daily updating time-lapse movies of Half Dome

{{Authority control Geology of Yosemite National Park Landforms of Yosemite National Park Mountains of Mariposa County, California Rock formations of California Tourist attractions in Mariposa County, California Domes Granite domes of Yosemite National Park