Yosemite National Park anniversary Oct 1, 2024

There"s a reason why famed American photographer Ansel Adams fell in love with Yosemite National Park: vistas like today"s image of Half Dome. The park, in central California"s Sierra Nevada range, has been a popular destination for artists, mountaineers, settlers, and nature lovers since the mid-1800s. To protect it from logging and overgrazing by cattle, Congress designated Yosemite a national park on this day in 1890. It"s one of the most visited parks in the US, with more than 3 million visitors a year.

© Adam Burton/Alamy

palette

Today in History

Oct 1, 2018It’s NASA’s 60th birthday
Oct 1, 2019It s Coffee Day
Oct 1, 2020A lunar lantern celebration
Oct 1, 2021What s better than a smile?
Oct 1, 2022Yosemite National Park turns 132
Oct 1, 2023Lake Bled, Slovenia
Oct 1, 2025Clark Range, Yosemite National Park, California

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Apr 23, 2024World Book Day
Aug 24, 2018A new park with a new mission
May 27, 2020Clouds over the River of Grass
Apr 28, 2018National Park Week: Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Jan 28, 2022Short-eared owl
Sep 14, 2022Navajo Bridge in Marble Canyon
Apr 25, 2024World Penguin Day
Aug 23, 2022Menton, France
Jan 28, 2018Winter scenery near Kuhmo, Finland
Jan 12, 2021Sailing on thick ice
Jun 10, 2022Poppies in bloom
Aug 28, 2023Dubrovnik, Croatia
Jul 27, 2020A stunning sight in Mexico s wilderness
Aug 10, 2021Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch on the institution s 175th anniversary
Feb 3, 2026Emerald Bay and Fannette Island, Lake Tahoe, California
Dec 3, 2019It’s Giving Tuesday
Mar 21, 2025Happy International Day of Forests!
Oct 17, 2020Fog above the forest
Jun 5, 2020By the light of the fireflies
Mar 31, 2026Paradise Cave, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, Vietnam
Aug 18, 2018Is that a buzzing sound?
Jan 16, 2026Leopard at Etosha National Park, Namibia
Aug 23, 2018Riding the bore tide at Turnagain Arm, Cook Inlet, Alaska
Jul 12, 2023Nakupenda Beach Nature Reserve, Zanzibar, Tanzania
Jul 18, 2019A learning garden
Jun 4, 2022National Trails Day
Jan 23, 2025Sundance Film Festival
May 19, 2022Glass footbridge in Zhangjiajie, China
Jul 28, 2024Bathing huts in Skåne County, Sweden
Dec 29, 2022Silver-studded blue butterflies