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Title
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Hetch Hetchy Valley Before and After the O’Shaughnessy Dam was Constructed
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Description
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Hetch Hetchey is the sister valley to Yosemite, and was once part of the park itself, before it was separated and dammed. The name Hetch Hetchy comes from “hatchhatchie,” which means “edible grasses” in the language of the park’s original Miwok inhabitants, and the dam is named for its chief engineer Michael O’Shaughnessy, who also built Hoover Dam. As we discussed in class, San Francisco’s 1906 earthquake (and the devastating lack of water to combat resultant fires) tilted public opinion in favor of the dam. Something else I learned was that John Muir, who fought hard to protect Hetch Hetchy, died a year after the 1913 Raker Act permitted the dam’s construction within the national park.
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Date
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1917 – 2012
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Location - Physical Location
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Hetch Hetchy Valley, California
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Name
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Calden Bates
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cites
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Harrell, Ashley. 2023. “Why You Need to Hike This Quiet Corner of Yosemite Right Now.” SFGATE, June 1. https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks/article/best-spring-hiking-yosemite-hetch-hetchy-18128132.php.
