Wawona, California is an unincorporated town located entirely within Yosemite National Park. It has approximately 160 year-round residents blank">http://www.wawona-yosemite.org/facts/wprimer.html, although the number of inhabitants swells considerably during peak tourist seasons, due to the large number of rental cabins in the town. It is located at .
It was known to Native Americans as Pallachun, which meant "a good place to stay" http://www.yosemitefilm.com/towns.htm. It was named Wawona by hotel keeper Jean Bruce Washburn in 1884. Wawō'na is the Southern Sierra Miwok word for Big Tree. A variety of sources also suggest Wawona was named after "the local American Indians' word for the hoot of the owl, which they considered the trees' spiritual guardian." http://www.sacbee.com/424/story/8725.html
The town is located on the south fork of the _Merced River at an elevation of approximately 1300 m (4000 feet). It is on State Route 41, the main highway from Fresno to Yosemite Valley.
Wawona is the location of the historic Wawona Hotel, built in 1876. It is the nearest town to Chilnualna Falls and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia. The principal trailheads into the southern Yosemite wilderness are in Wawona.
The ZIP Code is 95389. The community is inside area code 209.
