Yosemite Webcam: Computer To Broadcast One Of National Park's Greatest Attractions (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

FRESNO, Calif. -- Just in time for spring snowmelt: a webcam pointed at one of Yosemite National Park's main attractions, the soaring 2,425-foot Yosemite Falls.

The HD camera went live on North America's tallest fall Monday, allowing anyone with computer access to watch in stunning detail as shadows race across the towering granite monolith over which Yosemite Creek crashes in a series of plunges and cascades. It's updated every 30 seconds through a high-speed DSL connection.

To those for whom the park's breathtaking scenery revives the soul, getting a fix of spiritual uplift just got a little easier. For people who've never been to Yosemite, perhaps seeing one of the park's main attractions in real time will prove too enticing to resist.

"In a lot of ways I equate it to all of the beautiful picture books that we've had on our coffee tables, or the art from the 1870s that made Yosemite exciting to people around the world when they saw it for the first time," said Michael Tollefson, president of the nonprofit Yosemite Conservancy, which placed the camera there. "This is a great way to communicate in today's media what the park is and to get people excited immediately, for better or worse."           Full Read