1950 Manuscript Pictorial Map of Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park

A whimsical c. 1950 manuscript pictorial map and game of Lake Tenaya in Yosemite National Park. Most of the surrounding features have been renamed by the creator, who has drawn a maze around the lake filled with both hazards and natural wonders.

A Closer Look

Depicting the beautiful alpine landscape of Yosemite, this map also pokes fun at some of the less enjoyable aspects of the outdoors. Tenaya (here as Teneya) Lake and nearby features are imaginatively renamed, with the lake dubbed Disaster Lake, the surrounding Tioga Road as Runaway Road, a nearby campground as Camp Olde Smokey, and so on. References are made to common difficulties faced by campers, such as mud, fording water, lack of communication with the outside world, and gastrointestinal illness. Campers and hikers move along a path from a starting point to a finish line at bottom-right. A decorative border and compass rose round out this unique pictorial map.

Publication History and Census

This manuscript map was drawn by an unknown creator sometime in the mid-20th century. We are unaware of any other examples of the map in institutional collections or on the market.