<P> Yosemite National Park (/ joʊˈsɛmɪti / yoh - SEM - it - ee) is a national park spanning portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in Northern California . The park, which is managed by the National Park Service, covers an area of 747,956 acres (1,168.681 sq mi; 302,687 ha; 3,026.87 km) and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range . On average, about 4 million people visit Yosemite each year, and most spend the majority of their time in the 5.9 square miles (15 km) of Yosemite Valley . The park set a visitation record in 2016, surpassing 5 million visitors for the first time in its history . </P> <P> Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves, lakes, mountains, glaciers, and biological diversity . Almost 95% of the park is designated wilderness . Yosemite was central to the development of the national park idea . First, Galen Clark and others lobbied to protect Yosemite Valley from development, ultimately leading to President Abraham Lincoln's signing the Yosemite Grant in 1864 . Later, John Muir led a successful movement to establish a larger national park encompassing not just the valley, but surrounding mountains and forests as well--paving the way for the United States national park system . </P> <P> Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada, and the park supports a diversity of plants and animals . The park has an elevation range from 2,127 to 13,114 feet (648 to 3,997 m) and contains five major vegetation zones: chaparral / oak woodland, lower montane forest, upper montane forest, subalpine zone, and alpine . Of California's 7,000 plant species, about 50% occur in the Sierra Nevada and more than 20% within Yosemite . There is suitable habitat for more than 160 rare plants in the park, with rare local geologic formations and unique soils characterizing the restricted ranges many of these plants occupy . </P> <P> The geology of the Yosemite area is characterized by granitic rocks and remnants of older rock . About 10 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada was uplifted and then tilted to form its relatively gentle western slopes and the more dramatic eastern slopes . The uplift increased the steepness of stream and river beds, resulting in formation of deep, narrow canyons . About one million years ago, snow and ice accumulated, forming glaciers at the higher alpine meadows that moved down the river valleys . Ice thickness in Yosemite Valley may have reached 4,000 feet (1,200 m) during the early glacial episode . The downslope movement of the ice masses cut and sculpted the U-shaped valley that attracts so many visitors to its scenic vistas today . </P>

What is the altitude of yosemite national park