Stately Pleasure Dome facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stately Pleasure Dome
Stately Pleasure Dome from the South
Highest point
Elevation	9,065 ± 20 ft (2,763.0 ± 6.1 m) NAVD 88
Prominence	0 ft (0 m)
Parent peak	Polly Dome
Geography
Stately Pleasure Dome Location in California Show map of California Stately Pleasure Dome Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Yosemite National Park, Tuolumne County, California, U.S.
Parent range	Sierra Nevada
Topo map	USGS Tenaya Lake

Stately Pleasure Dome viewed from the East from the shores of Tenaya Lake.

Stately Pleasure Dome is a cool rock formation in Yosemite National Park. It's not its official name, but it's what people call this part of Polly Dome. This giant granite rock is found on the northwest side of Tenaya Lake and Tioga Road.

Stately Pleasure Dome is made of granite rock that has been shaped by glaciers and weather. It rises steeply about 900 feet (274 meters) from the lake. The very steep east side of this dome is a favorite spot for rock climbers. They are the ones who gave it this interesting name!

The name "Stately Pleasure Dome" likely comes from a famous poem. It's from a poem called Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Here's the part that inspired the name:

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
(emphasis added)

Rock Climbing Adventures

Tenaya Lake and climbers on Stately Pleasure Dome

The south side of Stately Pleasure Dome is very popular for rock climbing. It has more than twenty different climbing routes. Many of these routes are considered easy or medium difficulty. Climbers enjoy the smooth, sloping rock faces, which are perfect for a type of climbing called "slab climbing."