California’s drought | Drier season expected in Yosemite

Valley View is usually snow covered this time of year. Park officials expect Yosemite Valley’s waterfalls to go dry during the height of the summer tourist season.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The drought is taking a heavy toll on Yosemite National Park and the surrounding areas, like this stretch of the Merced River outside El Portal. This year’s snowpack was pitiful, leaving the Merced River with 14% of its normal flow -- a record low.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“All these trees are competing for water,” said Joe Meyer, a Yosemite scientist in charge of dozens of research projects in the park. “But away from the rivers, up on the slopes, the water is just not there. So, only the strongest survive.”   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A hiker traverses Lower Yosemite Falls.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Dead and dying trees turn brown amid healthier green trees in El Portal on the banks of the Merced River, a few miles south of Yosemite.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A rainbow in early-morning mist floats above Upper Yosemite Falls.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Dried sap colors the fire-scarred bark on burned trees in the Yosemite Valley.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Park geologist Greg Stock stands behind a steel spire marking the high-water mark of the 1997 flood along the Merced River in the Yosemite Valley.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Tenaya Creek feeds Mirror Lake, whose banks have receded months earlier than usual; the remaining water reflects bare rock that is usually covered in snow this time of year.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Hikers walk along the muddy banks of Mirror Lake. Tenaya Creek feeds Mirror Lake, whose banks have receded months earlier than usual.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)