Small Rockfall Makes Noise, Not A Lot of Damage

At about 12:40pm on Saturday, September 9, 2011, a small rockfall occurred from above the Lower Yosemite Falls Amphitheater, impacting near the viewing platform at the bridge across Yosemite Creek. The rockfall originated from a forested ledge just below the Upper Yosemite Falls trail and consisted of a block about 4 cubic meters in volume, or about the size of two refrigerators. The block struck several ledges on the way down and broke into many basketball and smaller sized fragments that impacted the area around the base of Lower Yosemite Falls. There were no reported injuries associated with this event. The trail was closed immediately after the rockfall, but reopened several hours later after field assessment by geologists concluded that it was an isolated event with low probability for future activity from that location. (NPS)