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Royal Arch Cascade

Yosemite National Park, California, USA

About Royal Arch Cascade

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Royal Arch Cascade is a stringy waterfall tumbling between the Ahwahnee Hotel and the Royal Arches.

The Royal Arches formed from the calving of the granite wall on which it resides leaving behind arches (though they’re not natural arches).

Royal_Arch_Cascade_002_03212004 - Royal Arch Cascade and North Dome
Royal Arch Cascade and North Dome

Although we’ve only seen this waterfall during the annual spring snowmelt, I’ve read that it can expand and decorate the granite wall on which it tumbles during a heavy thunderstorm.

Such storms might occur during the Summer months when pop-up thunderstorms would become the norm.

We haven’t seen the cascade do the expansion due to a sudden downpour from a thunderstorm so we can only imagine how much of a spectacle it might become should it occur.

Instead, we only spotted this cascade in its narrow state, which you can see from the photos on this page.

Royal_Arch_Cascade_004_05102003 - Context of the Royal Arch Cascade with North Dome, the Royal Arches, and the Washington Column as seen from Stoneman Meadow
Context of the Royal Arch Cascade with North Dome, the Royal Arches, and the Washington Column as seen from Stoneman Meadow

Given its generally weak flow, I don’t think it can be reliably seen by June unless the snow pack is high.

When it’s dry or trickling, only streaks are left on the wall.

Until we started to consciously look for this waterfall, it was easy to miss it because it neighbored other granite formations (in addition to the Royal Arches) such as North Dome and the Washington Column.

I also heard that rock climbers like to ascend the Royal Arches as well so it might be possible to spot them from the wide open expanse of Stoneman Meadow.

Yosemite_Valley_071_06032011 - Focused on just the Royal Arch Cascade as seen in early June 2011
Focused on just the Royal Arch Cascade as seen in early June 2011

As for photographing the waterfall, I found that it wasn’t terribly interesting by itself.

However, when it’s composed with other subjects (such as North Dome), then it becomes a bit more interesting.

Authorities

The Royal Arch Cascade resides in Yosemite National Park near Yosemite Village in Mariposa County, California. It is administered by the National Park Service. For information or inquiries about the park as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: curry, yosemite, mariposa, oakhurst, fresno, wawona, yosemite valley, sierra, california, waterfall, stoneman, ahwahnee, royal arch, washington column



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.