Reason why American flag is being hung upside down as a sign of 'distress' at Yosemite National Park

Tourists and nature-lovers visiting Yosemite National Park in California this weekend have been met with the unusual sight of the American flag hung upside-down from a cliff face.

The American flag pattern is something that's regularly seen in our day-to-day lives, and I'm not just talking about flagpoles. From T-shirts to phone cases, decorations to paper plates, the pattern has found a home on thousands of objects - despite the fact that there are actually guidelines surrounding the use of the flag.

Citing the US Flag Code, Cornell Law School notes: "The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free."

Flag Code restricts how the American flag can be displayed (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Another point states that 'the flag should never be displayed with the union down' - so why was this the exact sight greeting visitors at Yosemite on Sunday (February 23)?

The flag appeared at the top of the El Capitan summit - a 3,000-foot-tall rock formation located in Mariposa County, California.

According to NBC News, the flag was positioned by a group of Yosemite employees on Sunday evening, and its position was no accident.

The same code that states that the union should not be displayed upside down continues: "Except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property."

Those who hung the flag are believed to have drawn on this traditional meaning of 'distress' in a protest of recent job cuts within the National Park Service.

Donald Trump's administration cut 1,000 jobs at the agency, impacting both national park and forest employees who believe the cuts will have a knock-on effect, which will impact the public's experiences at the parks.

Protests have been held at national parks in response to the job cuts (ABC30 Action News)

Speaking to The San Francisco Chronicle, Gavin Carpenter, a maintenance mechanic at Yosemite park who supplied the upside-down flag, said: “We’re bringing attention to what’s happening to the parks, which are every American’s properties. It’s super important we take care of them, and we’re losing people here, and it’s not sustainable if we want to keep the parks open.”

The flag gained further attention after a photo of it was shared online by photographer Brittany Colt, who wrote: “This hit so close to home for me. I witnessed several of my friends lose their jobs overnight while leaving our public lands vulnerable. These people had very valuable jobs, such as Search and Rescue and keeping the restrooms and park clean for visitors. If we lose the public servants, the park experience will get only harder and potentially more dangerous for visitors."

Following the initial announcement of job cuts, the Associated Press reported plans for the Trump administration to restore at least 50 jobs within the National Parks Service, and hire nearly 3,000 additional seasonal workers.