Chapel High Water Mark - Yosemite National Park - California
Posted by: 
GT.US
N 37° 44.481 W 119° 35.503
11S E 271637 N 4180280
This high water mark is next to the chapel sign.
Waymark Code: WM82QG
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 01/17/2010
Views: 17
This sign marks a flood that occured New Years day, 1997
Wikipedia (
visit link) tells us:
"A series of tropical storms collectively called a pineapple connection hit northern California from late December 1996 to early January 1997. December 1996 was one of the wettest Decembers on record. The Klamath River on California's North Coast experienced significant flooding which led to the river permanently changing course in some areas. The Klamath National Forest experienced its worst flood since 1974. Unprecedented flows from rain surged into the Feather River basin while melted snow surged into the San Joaquin River basin.[6] Rain fell at elevations up to 11,000 feet (3,400 m), prompting snow melt. The Cosumnes River, a tributary to the San Joaquin River, bore the brunt of the flooding. Sacramento was spared, though levee failures flooded Olivehurst, Arboga, Wilton, Manteca, and Modesto.[7] Massive landslides in the Eldorado National Forest east of Sacramento closed Highway 50. Damages totaled US$35 million (1997 dollars).[6]
Watersheds in the Sierra Nevada were already saturated by the time three subtropical storms added more than 30 inches (760 mm) of rain in late December 1996 and early January 1997. Levee failures due to breaks or overtopping in the Sacramento River Basin resulted in extensive damages. In the San Joaquin River Basin, dozens of levees failed throughout the river system and produced widespread flooding. The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta also experienced several levee breaks and levee overtopping. 48 counties were declared disaster areas, including all 46 counties in northern California.[1] Over 23,000 homes and businesses, agricultural lands, bridges, roads and flood management infrastructures – valued at about $2 billion – were damaged. Nine people were killed and 120,000 people were evacuated from their homes. 300 square miles (780 km2) were flooded, including the Yosemite Valley, which flooded for the first time since 1861-62."