<p>The most famous and accessible of these cañon valleys, and also the one that presents their most striking and sublime features on the grandest scale, is the Yosemite, situated in the basin of the Merced River.</p> <blockquote> <p>But no temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite</p> <cite>—John Muir</cite> </blockquote> <p>The most famous and accessible of these cañon valleys, and also the one that presents their most striking and sublime features on the grandest scale, is the Yosemite, situated in the basin of the Merced River at an elevation of 4000 feet above the level of the sea.</p>