The third release of the America the Beautiful Quarter series will be the 2010 Yosemite National Park Quarter. Notably, the Yosemite National Park was also featured on the 2005 California State Quarter along with an image of conservationalist John Muir.
The reverse design for the Yosemite Quarter features the rock formation El Capitan. This is the largest monolith of granite in the world, which rises over 3,000 feet above the valley floor. Another design candidate featured the half dome formation, but this was not selected. The obverse of the quarter features a portrait of George Washington restored from the original version used on the 1932 Washington Quarter.
The Yosemite Valley had long been considered an area of stunning beauty and natural diversity. The efforts of John Muir and Robert Underwood Johnson helped convince Congress to place the area under federal protection in 1890. The area was first under the protection of the United States Army’s Fourth Cavalry Regiment, but eventually came under the protection of the National Park Service in 1916.
