There's a reason why famed American photographer Ansel Adams fell in love with Yosemite National Park: vistas like today's image of Half Dome. The park, in central California's Sierra Nevada range, has been a popular destination for artists, mountaineers, settlers, and nature lovers since the mid-1800s. To protect it from logging and overgrazing by cattle, Congress designated Yosemite a national park on this day in 1890. It's one of the most visited parks in the US, with more than 3 million visitors a year.

At almost 9,000 feet tall, Half Dome is only one of Yosemite's geological wonders. Other famous climbing destinations include El Capitan and Mount Lyell, which at 13,114 feet tall is the park's highest summit. Yosemite is also famous for its waterfalls and is home to giant sequoia trees, black bears, mountain lions, and endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep.