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Hetch
Hetchy
About twenty miles northwest of the Yosemite Valley is the remnant of a
similar but smaller valley known as the Hetch Hetchy (from Miwok:
"grass-seed valley" or "acorn valley"). Before 1914 the waters of the
Tuolumne River raced through the valley floor and like Yosemite waterfalls
cascaded over magnificent granite cliffs. However, the people of San
Francisco needed water and petitioned to build a dam that would flood the
valley offering them a reservoir. When a plan for the O'Shaughnessy dam
was announced, John Muir and other conservationists objected. Muir said
that the flooding of the Hetch Hetchy would be like destroying one of
nature's great cathedrals. In spite of Muir's objections, Congress in 1913
approved the building of the dam. Muir was greatly saddened when he heard
the news. Brokenhearted, he died a few months later. Construction of the
dam began in 1914 and was completed within nine years. An aqueduct
carrying water from the reservoir to San Francisco was in full operation
by 1934. Today the Hetch Hetchy provides San Franciscans with about 85
percent of their water.
Photos of Hetch Hetchy
mouse click on any of the thumbnail images below for
an enlargement
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