Royal Arches (Yosemite)
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The Royal Arches is a cliff containing natural occurring
granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, 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 coo ...
exfoliation arches, located below
North Dome North Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, California. It is the southernmost summit of Indian Ridge, north of Washington Column and the Royal Arches on the northeastern wall of Yosemite Valley. It can be reached by trail from ...
and rising above
Yosemite Valley Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a U-shaped valley, glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California, United States. The valley is about long a ...
, in
Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...
, California. (). These are not literal
arches An arch is a curved vertical structure span (engineering), spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th mill ...
, but rather arch shaped indentations in the cliff face. The Royal Arches are located on the north side of the valley, northeast of the
Ahwahnee Hotel The Ahwahnee is a grand hotel in Yosemite National Park, California, on the floor of Yosemite Valley. It was built by the Yosemite Park and Curry Company and opened for business in 1927. The hotel is constructed of steel, stone, concrete, w ...
. Adjacent to the Royal Arches is the
Royal Arch Cascade Royal Arch Cascade is a waterfall located on the north wall of Yosemite Valley and the Yosemite National Park, United States, within walking distance from the Ahwahnee Hotel. The falls are high and are usually dry by June. The waterfall gets it ...
waterfall.
Washington Column Washington Column is a roughly 1800-foot high rock formation, arising from Yosemite Valley. It is east of the Royal Arches, behind the Ahwahnee Hotel. North Dome is above it. Washington Column can be viewed from many points in Yosemite Valley, ...
is just to the east, and
North Dome North Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, California. It is the southernmost summit of Indian Ridge, north of Washington Column and the Royal Arches on the northeastern wall of Yosemite Valley. It can be reached by trail from ...
is above.


Etymology

The Native American name for the formation was “Scho-ko-ni,” which translates to “baby basket” or “shade for a baby.” An alternative name, “Cho-ko-nip-o-deh,” has a similar meaning. However, interpretations of the name vary. One scholar of Native American languages suggests that “Cho-ko-ni” could mean “dog house.” Additionally, Bancroft's Tourist Guide recorded the name as “Hun-to,” translating to “watching eye.”


Geology and rockfall risk

The Royal Arches, like many areas of Yosemite Valley, is prone to
rockfall A rockfall or rock-fallWhittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984. . is a quantity of Rock (geology), rock that has fallen freely from a cliff face. The term is also used for collapse of rock from roof or wa ...
from the nearly vertical cliffs that surround the valley. Factors long known to trigger rockfall on steep cliffs include "precipitation, seismic activity and freezing conditions". Research conducted at the Royal Arches by scientists with the
United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...
and the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
analyzed the additional role of very hot weather on exfoliation. The researchers installed motion sensors in the crack behind a slab of granite on the Royal Arches that measures 19 meters tall, 4 meters wide, and 10 centimeters thick, and monitored the rock movement for years. They learned that the crack could open up as much as nearly half an inch on unusually hot days. The researchers concluded that "Our data indicate that the warmest times of the day and year are particularly conducive to triggering rockfalls, and that cyclic thermal forcing may enhance the efficacy of other, more typical rockfall triggers." In August, 2023, the National Park Service announced that "Rock climbers recently reported a new crack in a cliff on the western side of Royal Arches, near the climbing route Super Slide. Subsequent investigation revealed that this crack has partially detached a large pillar of rock, and that cracking was actively occurring." On August 6, a
mountain guide A mountain guide is a specially trained and experienced professional mountaineer who is certified by local authorities or mountain guide associations. They are considered to be high-level experts in mountaineering, and are hired to instruct or ...
working for the Yosemite Mountaineering School climbed in the area and saw nothing out of the ordinary. On August 20, the same guide discovered the crack. Park ranger Jesse McGahey reported that "the following week a climbing ranger and a geologist observed it firsthand and they could hear it cracking like a frozen lake that wasn’t consolidated". Park geologist Greg Stock and a climbing ranger examined the crack and "heard continuous creaking noises and witnessed many rock chips falling out of the crack". By September 7, the crack had grown by 12 feet in length, and was wider. As a result, the National Park Service closed down climbing access on the west side of the Royal Arches "as a precautionary effort to reduce risk from rockfall". A section of a hiking trail was also closed, and a detour was established.


Rock climbing

The Royal Arches, like much of the Yosemite area, feature a great choice of
rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...
sites. The Royal Arches climbing area spans from the Church Bowl to Washington Column. The '' Royal Arches Route'' is recognized in the historic climbing text ''
Fifty Classic Climbs of North America ''Fifty Classic Climbs of North America'' is a 1979 climbing guidebook Climbing guidebooks are used by mountaineers, alpinists, ice climbers, and rock climbers to locate, grade, and navigate climbing routes on mountains, climbing crags, or ...
''. This route, despite its name, is located hundreds of yards east of the Royal Arches. The first ascent was by Kenneth Davis, Morgan Harris and Ken Adam on October 9, 1936. (pages 230 - 235) Other popular climbing routes on the Royal Arches itself include ''Super Slide'', ''Peruvian Flake West'', ''Rhombus Wall'', ''Serenity Crack'' and ''Sons of Yesterday''.


See also

*


References

{{reflist Granite formations Rock formations of Yosemite National Park Climbing areas of California Landforms of Mariposa County, California