Panorama showing El Capitan, one of the most famous mountain peaks in Yosemite National Park. This panorama was taken from the banks of the Merced River and clearly shows the domed peak of El Capitan, whose vertical face is a reminder of the power of glaciers in shaping landscapes.

El Capitan from Merced River - Yosemite National Park visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'El Capitan from Merced River' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from California.

The woods from which this panorama showing El Capitan are next to Cathedral Beach in Yosemite National Park, near the beginning of the one way Southside Drive to Yosemite Village. The face of El Capitan is famous as an extreme climbing face, reputedly one of the hardest bare rockfaces to climb in the world. The face is almost vertical and worn very smooth by glaciers during an ice age, which formed the U-shaped valley of Yosemite and the hanging valleys that numerous waterfalls, including Yosemite Falls, plunge over into the Merced River.

Yosemite National Park
Public Information Office
P.O. Box 577
Yosemite, CA 95389

Cathedral Beach is on Southside Drive, a on-way road leading from the end of the 41 / 140 to Yosemite Village.