Yosemite National Park - Field or Meadow?

This is one of the series of blog posts whose intent is to document what we have seen and learnt in our vacation:

Long before Euro-Americans arrived in Yosemite (pronounces as "yoh-sem-i-tee) Valley, the Ahwahneechee kept the meadow open by periodicaly burning them, eradicating the undergrowth and most young seedlings. This encouraged the growth of desirable plants, such as deer greass, which was used in basketmaking.

Unlike the single-species sameness of a lawn or a planted field, a meadow is a place of amazing diversity, home to many species of plants and animals.

In the Sierra Nevada, meadows are low at lower elevations, like Yosemite Valley (elevation 4000 feet). Only a few places in the entire park have the right miz of soil, fire frequency and water to sustain a medow. Many of Yosemite's meadows have been gradually isappearing, lowsing ground to the encircling forest.

Some meadow residents: Coyote, Mule deer