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• Granite from the extreme reach of Glacier Rock
• Yosemite, California 37.8651° N, 119.5383° W
• Collected in 1870
• BM# 1948.64.106

General McCormick Reeve collected granite from Glacier Point in Yosemite Park, a highly popular tourist destination (even President Teddy Roosevelt has visited). It is likely he took the granite, not for its long history of use, but rather to commemorate this trip.

During Reeve’s last year at Yale University he joined an expedition of seven men traveling to the North and Southwest states led by Othneil Charles Marsh (Willis 2016). During this trip, “O. C.” Marsh, Edward Cope, General George Custer, William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, and a couple Yale students stopped in Yosemite and travelled throughout the mountains. During the time of Reeve’s trip, Yosemite was not yet established as a national park (it was established in 1890) (National Park Service 2010). The granite comes from Glacier Point, an overlook with a breathtaking view of the park (National Park Service 2019). This location has had heavy traffic throughout the years, drawing people from all walks of life including the former US President Mr. Teddy Roosevelt. Reeve most likely chipped the granite off visible rock in order to bring a physical reminder of Yosemite home with him.

The canister left behind by Reeve contains a mixture of pale rocks, brown dirt, and what appear to be leaves or seed pods. The mixture gives off an image of chipping away at rock followed by scooping the items that fell into the canister. This would explain the odd assortment of things contained within the canister. Granite within Yosemite has come into contact with glaciers, which is why granite in the park tends to look polished. The beauty of the park’s granite might have also played a role in Reeve’s collection of it.

Glacier Point is a common tourist destination due to the unbelievable view it offers of the park. The location itself is a small, extended section of rock with almost nothing below it. Standing on the edge of this, you can see Yosemite Valley, the Half Dome, and the High Sierra (National Park Service 2019). Yosemite is a vast landscape that resulted from the interaction of underlying rock and glaciers. Some of those glaciers remain today. As a result of its formation, polished granite is common. The landscape within Yosemite takes the form of mountains, peaks, valleys, groves, lakes, canyons, waterfalls, and marshes. The location also has many historical uses with many archaeological sites.

For Further Reading

• Allin, Craig W. 2010. Encyclopedia of Global Resources. Hackensack: Salem Press Publishers. ProQuest Ebook Central. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rollins-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3400702
• Black, Renee Allee. 1988. “State Control of Mining On Federal Land: Environmental or Land Use Regulation?” Natural Resources Journal 28, no. 4: 873-81. www.jstor.org/stable/24883522.
• National Park Service. 2010. “Yosemite National Park Celebrates 120th Birthday on October 1.” Last Updated March 1, 2015. https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/news/yose120.htm National Park Service. 2018. “Yosemite.” https://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm. Last modified July 24, 2018. National Park Service. 2019. “Glacier Point. Last Updated October 23, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/glacierpoint.htm
• Newbold. 1843. “On the Processes Prevailing among the Hindus, and Formerly among the Egyptians, of Quarrying and Polishing Granite; Its Uses, &c.; With a Few Remarks on the Tendency of This Rock in India to Separate by Concentric Exfoliation.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 7, no. 1: 113-28. www.jstor.org/stable/25207574.
• Ogden, Kate Nearpass.1990. “Sublime Vistas and Scenic Backdrops: Nineteenth-Century Painters and Photographers at Yosemite.” California History 69, no. 2: 134-53. doi:10.2307/25462420. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25462420
• Willis, Jackson. 2016. “Encounters in the Park: An Exhibition on Yosemite at the Yale University Art Gallery.” Last Updated November 16, 2016. https://thepolitic.org/encounters-in-the-park-an-exhibition-on-yosemite-at-the-yale-university-art-gallery/
• Yale University. 2020. “American Paintings and Sculptures.” https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/4964