Picturesque rocks of every conceivable form
adorned its banks, among which glided the numerous tributaries, mottled
with black and red and gray boulders, from the fountain peaks, while
ever and anon, as the deliberate centuries passed away, dome after dome
raised its burnished crown above the ice-flood to enrich the slowly
opening landscapes.
The principal moraines occur in short irregular sections along the sides
of the canyons, their fragmentary condition being due to interruptions
caused by portions of the sides of the canyon walls being too steep for
moraine matter to lie on, and to down-sweeping torrents and avalanches.
The left lateral of the trunk may be traced about five miles from the
mouth of the first main tributary to the Illilouette Canyon. The
corresponding section of the right lateral, extending from Cathedral
tributary to the Half Dome, is more complete because of the more
favorable character of the north side of the canyon. A short
side-glacier came in against it from the slopes of Clouds' Rest; but
being fully exposed to the sun, it was melted long before the main
trunk, allowing the latter to deposit this portion of its moraine
undisturbed. Some conception of the size and appearance of this fine
moraine may be gained by following the Clouds' Rest trail from Yosemite,
which crosses it obliquely and conducts past several sections made by
streams.
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