Hetch Hetchy is the name of a valley, a reservoir and a water system in California in the United States. The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River. For thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans in the 1850s, the valley was inhabited by Native Americans who practiced subsistence hunting-gathering. During the late 19th century, the valley was renowned for its natural beauty – often compared to that of Yosemite Valley – but also targeted for the development of water supply for irrigation and municipal interests.
In 1923, the O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed on the Tuolumne River, flooding the entire valley under the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. The dam and reservoir are the centerpiece of the Hetch Hetchy Project, which in 1934 began to deliver water 167 miles (269km) west to San Francisco and its client municipalities in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. These works have remained contested to the present day on both legal and environmental platforms. In the 21st century, there has been renewed interest in removing the dam and restoring the valley to its natural state.
O'Shaughnessy Dam is a 430-foot (131m) high concrete arch-gravity dam in Tuolumne County, California, in the United States. It impounds the Tuolumne River, forming the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir at the lower end of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, about 160 miles (260km) east of San Francisco. The dam and reservoir are the source for the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct, which provides water for over 2 million people in San Francisco and other municipalities of the west Bay Area. The dam is named for engineer Michael O'Shaughnessy, who oversaw its construction.
Although San Francisco had sought Tuolumne River water as early as the 1890s, this project did not move forward until the disastrous earthquake and fire of 1906, which underscored the insufficiency of the existing water supply. The Hetch Hetchy Valley – then compared to Yosemite Valley for its scenic beauty – was chosen for its water quality and hydroelectric potential, but the location within the national park generated controversy. An act of Congress was required to circumvent federal protection of the Tuolumne River, with the reasoning that public land should be developed for the public benefit.
Although it operated as a common carrier, the Hetch Hetchy Railroad was built by the City of San Francisco to build the O'Shaughnessy Dam across Hetch Hetchy Valley as part of the city's water supply. The dam was completed in 1923 and the railroad scaled back operations, selling some of its equipment, including #6, which was sold to Pickering Lumber Corporation in Standard, California. The locomotive served Pickering's logging operations until 1958 when it was retired.
The railroad operated four Shays at different times. Number 6 was by far the largest, the only three truck Shay of the lot and weighing more than twice as much as the others.
Hetch Hetchy was an American post-punk band formed in Athens, Georgia. Lynda Stipe, sometimes credited as Lynda L. Limner, was the only consistent member of the group until they permanently disbanded.
History
The EPMake Djibouti was issued through Texas Hotel in 1988 and was produced by Lynda's brother Michael Stipe the lead singer of the band R.E.M. After the release of Make Djibouti most of the original players left the band, leaving Stipe as the only remaining group member. Bassist and vocalist Jay Totty, who had recently moved from Athens to Florida, saw Stipe performing with her band Cowface and was impressed. They formed a new incarnation of Hetch Hetchy and released Swollen in 1990, with Tim Sommer and Hahn Rowe producing. In contrast to the group's previous release, Swollen drew inspiration from gothic rock, dream pop and British folk music, garnering them comparisons to Cocteau Twins and Hugo Largo.
Other films on deck include “Coldiron and the Cabinets,” about a war veteran who discovers world-class ice climbing in northwest Montana, “Finding Hetch Hetchy,” about the Yosemite Valley reservoir, ...
The goal is to restore natural conditions not seen in the scenic meadow between Yosemite's Big Oak Flat entrance station and Hetch Hetchy Reservoir since before the 1880s, when cattle grazing, logging and homesteading began there ...Citation ... ....
And, for nearly century, San Franciscans have received their drinking water almost exclusively from Hetch Hetchy, a rich snowmelt-fed reservoir in the Yosemite Valley. “Having Hetch Hetchy is really the primary reason ,” Altevogt said.
“But I don’t own the land under it.” ... San Francisco obtains most of its water from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir and water system in Yosemite, and the California state water project gets most of its water from rural areas in northern California ...Medill ... .
Hetch Hetchy remains a stunning valley despite the reservoir, and a hike up the trail on the north side of the lake offers amazing vistas and waterfalls like Tueeulala and Wapama Falls, almost the rival of Yosemite Falls.
Q ... Also, if you enter Yosemite via YARTS (Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System) buses, on a bicycle, on foot or on horseback, or if you visit the Hetch Hetchy reservoir portion of the park, you don’t need a reservation to enter the park.
San Francisco Examiner
10 Jul 2024
San Francisco Examiner
10 Jul 2024