Nevada Fall Base Impact Zone and Dense Water Mist (1927)

Heavy clouds of white water spray and mist rising from the roaring base of Nevada Fall around a massive granite boulder. — Nevada Fall Base Impact Zone and Dense Water Mist (1927) · Donald A. Hall Estate Collection

Venturing close to the turbulent impact basin of Nevada Fall along the Merced River, Donald A. Hall Sr. documented the explosive hydraulic energy of the 594-foot waterfall. Plunging into the rocky canyon floor, the torrent atomizes into thick, billowing clouds of spray that veil the dark granite cliffs and envelop a massive angular boulder in the foreground, capturing the raw physical velocity and fluid dynamics of Yosemite's waterways.