Merced River, Yosemite National Park, California, United States Dec 13, 2025

Merced River, Yosemite National Park, California, United States

Every masterpiece needs a brushstroke to tie it together. For Yosemite National Park, that stroke is the Merced River—painting reflections of granite cliffs, pine forests and waterfalls across its canvas. One of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers, this waterway begins high in the Sierra Nevada. It gathers meltwater and travels about 235 kilometres west through Yosemite Valley into California"s Central Valley in the United States.

© Ron and Patty Thomas/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

A city so nice they made it twice
Dec 13, 2023Svolvaer, Lofoten Islands, Norway
Dec 13, 2024Christmas market, St. Stephens Basilica, Budapest, Hungary

More Desktop Wallpapers:

So close, yet so far
Nov 23, 2023Victoria Memorial, Kolkata, India
Dec 19, 2023Castle Square, Old Town, Warsaw, Poland
Sep 22, 2025Autumn equinox
Feb 1, 2026Colourful house in Olinda, Brazil
A remote oasis in the Chihuahuan Desert
Jun 18, 2025Asian swallowtail butterfly on a red spider lily
Apr 22, 2024Earth Day
Standing on glass 900+ feet in the air
Magnified moss
A plant for all occasions
Strong sibling bonds
A puzzle for giants
Oct 2, 2024Gandhi Jayanti
Feb 16, 2024Female pyrrhuloxia in Texas, USA
A view that’s out of this world
Nov 24, 2025Gwalior Fort, Madhya Pradesh
Why is this cliffside ablaze?
Feb 1, 2024Aýna, Albacete, Spain
Oct 3, 2024Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
Nov 9, 2023Birch trees, Drammen, Norway
Jan 17, 2025Brown pelican, San Diego, California, United States
A future built on the past
Back to the future
Nov 3, 2024International Day for Biosphere Reserves
May 6, 2026Thunderstorm above the plains, Bulgaria
Oct 11, 2023The Painted Hills, Oregon
Apr 6, 2024Himeji Castle, Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan
Dec 21, 2023Ljubljana, Slovenia
Napping near the North Pole