What Made Half Dome?

Half Dome was formed 60 million years ago when molten granite pushed up from the Earth's core toward the surface, forming a magma chamber that crystallized as it cooled. Millions more years of uplifting forces, glacial activity and erosion have made Half Dome into what it is today.

How was Half Dome cut in half?

But over time, they were exposed as ice age after ice age sent glacier after glacier carving through the nascent Sierra Nevadas. Softer rock cut away, leaving the tough, granite intrusions sticking out---Half Dome among the largest and most striking. The last glaciers retreated about 15,000 years ago.

What formed Yosemite?

The different individual bodies of plutonic rocks in Yosemite were formed from repeated intrusions of magma into older host rocks beneath the surface of the Earth. These intrusions may have taken place over a time period as long as 130 million years.