Yosemite Valley Pictures: A VirtualTour

By the time you reach Tenaya Lake, the elevation is quite high - 8,150 feet (2,484 m) at its surface. The lake's terrain was cut by the Tuolumne Glacier and it sits on Tenaya Creek, which runs to Yosemite Valley. The name Tenaya come from an Indian chief who met early visitors near the lake, telling them its name was Pie-we-ack which meant "Lake of the Shining Rocks."