2010-S California Yosemite National Park Quarter GEM PROOF America the Beautiful

On October 1, 1890, the U.S. Congress set aside more than 1,500 square miles of "reserved forest lands" soon to be known as Yosemite National Park.  It included the area surrounding Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. Yosemite National Park spans eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California.  The park covers an area of 761,266 acres and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain.  Yosemite National Park elevation ranges from 2,000 to 13,114 feet above sea level.  Yosemite Valley's first residents were American Indians who inhabited the region perhaps as long as 6,000 years ago.

Yosemite National Park is famous for its spectacular scenery and is a popular destination for hikers, campers, and naturalists.  Yosemite National Park is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity.  Almost 95% of the park is designated wilderness.  Yosemite National Park contains five major vegetation zones: chaparral/oak woodland, lower montane, upper montane, subalpine, and alpine.  Of California's 7,000 plant species, about 50% occur in the Sierra Nevada and more than 20% within Yosemite National Park.  Wildlife includes 240 species of birds and 80 species of mammals, including American black bears and bobcats.  

From 2010 through 2021 the US Mint is issuing commemorative quarters with special reverse designs celebrating National Parks and other National Sites. A park or site is being honored in each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the five US Territories: Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands. Each National Park or National Site was selected for its natural or historical significance. The National Park Quarters are being minted and issued at the rate of 5 designs a year, in approximately ten week intervals. The National Park Quarters are being released in the order that the locations were first designated as National Sites. The Obverse side of the coins feature a smaller restoration of the original Washington Quarter portrait, modeled from designer John Flanagan's 1932 plaster. The Reverse of each coin will feature a representation of the unique character and environment of each State, District, or Territory's National Park or Historic Site.

Circulation strikes will be made at the Philadelphia (P) and Denver (D) mints. The San Francisco (S) mint will strike the proofs in clad composition and silver. Clad composition strikes contain an outer layer of 75% copper and 25% nickel bonded to an inner core of pure copper with a 24.33 mm diameter, 5.67 grams weight, and a reeded edge. The silver strikes will contain 90% silver and 10% copper with a 24.33 mm diameter, 6.25 grams weight, and a reeded edge.