Teton Range
Encyclopedia
The Teton Range is a mountain range
of the Rocky Mountains
in North America
. A north-south range, it is on the Wyoming
side of the state's border with Idaho
, just south of Yellowstone National Park
. Most of the range is in Grand Teton National Park
.
Early French Voyageurs
used the name "les Trois Tétons" (the three breasts). It is likely that the Shoshone people once called the whole range Teewinot, meaning "many pinnacles".
The principal summits of the central massif, sometimes referred to as the Cathedral Group
, are Grand Teton
(13770 feet (4,197.1 m)), Mount Owen
(12928 feet (3,940.5 m)), Teewinot
(12325 feet (3,756.7 m)), Middle Teton
(12804 feet (3,902.7 m)) and South Teton
(12514 feet (3,814.3 m)). Other peaks in the range include Mount Moran
(12605 feet (3,842 m)), Mount Wister
(11490 feet (3,502.2 m)), Buck Mountain
(11938 feet (3,638.7 m)) and Static Peak (11303 feet (3,445.2 m)).
. The west block along the fault line was pushed upwards to form the Teton Range, thereby creating the youngest range of the Rocky Mountains. The fault's east block fell downwards to form the valley called Jackson Hole
. While many of the central peaks of the range are composed of granite
, the geological processes that led to the current composition began about 2.5 billion years ago. At that time, sand and volcanic debris settled into an ancient ocean. Additional sediment was deposited for several million years and eventually heat and pressure metamorphosed the sediment into gneiss
, which comprises the major mass of the range. Subsequently, magma was forced up through the cracks and weaknesses in the gneiss to form granite, anywhere from inches to hundreds of feet thick. This ancient magma has manifested itself as noticeable black dikes of diabase
rock, visible on the southwest face of Mount Moran
and on the Grand Teton
. Erosion and uplift have exposed the granite now visible today.
One reason the Tetons are famous is because of their great elevation above their base. Unlike most mountain ranges, the Tetons lack foothills
, or lower peaks which can obscure the view. This is due to the fault zone being at the base of the range on the eastern side, and the range being too young to have had time to erode into soft hills. As such, the Tetons rise sharply, from 5,000 to nearly 7,000 feet above the valley floor. The view is most dramatic as seen from the east; on the west side, they appear as high rolling hills that transition smoothly into flat pasture.
Jackson Hole and the Tetons have been the setting for a number of films, including John Wayne
's movie acting debut in The Big Trail
in 1930 and Shane in 1953. Mount Moran and the surrounding mountains were used as a backdrop for the lake/swamp setting in the original series of Land of the Lost (1974 TV series)
.
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. A north-south range, it is on the Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
side of the state's border with Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, just south of Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
. Most of the range is in Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, U.S. The Park consists of approximately and includes the major peaks of the long Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Only south of Yellowstone...
.
Early French Voyageurs
Voyageurs
The Voyageurs were the persons who engaged in the transportation of furs by canoe during the fur trade era. Voyageur is a French word which literally translates to "traveler"...
used the name "les Trois Tétons" (the three breasts). It is likely that the Shoshone people once called the whole range Teewinot, meaning "many pinnacles".
The principal summits of the central massif, sometimes referred to as the Cathedral Group
Cathedral Group
The Cathedral Group is a term applied to a collection of most of the tallest mountains of the Teton Range, all of which are located in Grand Teton National Park, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The collection of mountains known as the Cathedral Group are classic alpine peaks, with pyramidal shapes...
, are Grand Teton
Grand Teton
Grand Teton is the highest mountain in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park, and a classic destination in American mountaineering.- Geography :...
(13770 feet (4,197.1 m)), Mount Owen
Mount Owen (Wyoming)
Mount Owen is the second highest peak in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The peak is named after William O. Owen, who organized the first documented ascent of the Grand Teton in 1898. Mount Owen is part of the Cathedral Group of high Teton peaks, a...
(12928 feet (3,940.5 m)), Teewinot
Teewinot Mountain
Teewinot Mountain is the sixth highest peak in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. The name of the mountain is derived from the Shoshone Native American word meaning "many pinnacles". The peak is northeast of the Grand Teton and the two are separated from one another by the Teton...
(12325 feet (3,756.7 m)), Middle Teton
Middle Teton
Middle Teton is the third highest peak in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. The peak is immediately southwest of Grand Teton and the two are separated from one another by the lower saddle, a broad high ridge at . The Middle Teton Glacier is located on the eastern slopes of the...
(12804 feet (3,902.7 m)) and South Teton
South Teton
South Teton is the fifth highest peak in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. The peak is south of Middle Teton and just west of Cloudveil Dome and is part of the Cathedral Group of high Teton peaks. The long Teton Range is the youngest mountain chain in the Rocky Mountains, and...
(12514 feet (3,814.3 m)). Other peaks in the range include Mount Moran
Mount Moran
Mount Moran is a mountain in Grand Teton National Park of western Wyoming, USA. The mountain is named for Thomas Moran, an American western frontier landscape artist. Mount Moran dominates the northern section of the Teton Range rising above Jackson Lake. Several active glaciers exist on the...
(12605 feet (3,842 m)), Mount Wister
Mount Wister
Mount Wister is located in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The peak is located west of Taggart Lake and to the south of Avalanche Canyon....
(11490 feet (3,502.2 m)), Buck Mountain
Buck Mountain
Buck Mountain is located in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, immediately southeast of Grand Teton. The mountain is the highest summit south of Garnet Canyon and is easily seen from most vantage points in Jackson Hole. Views from the summit offer excellent views of the Cathedral...
(11938 feet (3,638.7 m)) and Static Peak (11303 feet (3,445.2 m)).
Geology
Between six and nine million years ago, stretching and thinning of the Earth's crust caused movement along the Teton faultGeologic fault
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement along the fractures as a result of earth movement. Large faults within the Earth's crust result from the action of tectonic forces...
. The west block along the fault line was pushed upwards to form the Teton Range, thereby creating the youngest range of the Rocky Mountains. The fault's east block fell downwards to form the valley called Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole, originally called Jackson's Hole, is a valley located in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the western border with Idaho. The name "hole" derives from language used by early trappers or mountain men, who primarily entered the valley from the north and east and had to descend along...
. While many of the central peaks of the range are composed of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, the geological processes that led to the current composition began about 2.5 billion years ago. At that time, sand and volcanic debris settled into an ancient ocean. Additional sediment was deposited for several million years and eventually heat and pressure metamorphosed the sediment into gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
, which comprises the major mass of the range. Subsequently, magma was forced up through the cracks and weaknesses in the gneiss to form granite, anywhere from inches to hundreds of feet thick. This ancient magma has manifested itself as noticeable black dikes of diabase
Diabase
Diabase or dolerite is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. In North American usage, the term diabase refers to the fresh rock, whilst elsewhere the term dolerite is used for the fresh rock and diabase refers to altered material...
rock, visible on the southwest face of Mount Moran
Mount Moran
Mount Moran is a mountain in Grand Teton National Park of western Wyoming, USA. The mountain is named for Thomas Moran, an American western frontier landscape artist. Mount Moran dominates the northern section of the Teton Range rising above Jackson Lake. Several active glaciers exist on the...
and on the Grand Teton
Grand Teton
Grand Teton is the highest mountain in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park, and a classic destination in American mountaineering.- Geography :...
. Erosion and uplift have exposed the granite now visible today.
One reason the Tetons are famous is because of their great elevation above their base. Unlike most mountain ranges, the Tetons lack foothills
Foothills
Foothills are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills to the adjacent topographically high mountains.-Examples:...
, or lower peaks which can obscure the view. This is due to the fault zone being at the base of the range on the eastern side, and the range being too young to have had time to erode into soft hills. As such, the Tetons rise sharply, from 5,000 to nearly 7,000 feet above the valley floor. The view is most dramatic as seen from the east; on the west side, they appear as high rolling hills that transition smoothly into flat pasture.
Jackson Hole and the Tetons have been the setting for a number of films, including John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
's movie acting debut in The Big Trail
The Big Trail
The Big Trail is a lavish early widescreen movie shot on location across the American West starring John Wayne in his first leading role and directed by Raoul Walsh....
in 1930 and Shane in 1953. Mount Moran and the surrounding mountains were used as a backdrop for the lake/swamp setting in the original series of Land of the Lost (1974 TV series)
Land of the Lost (1974 TV series)
Land of the Lost is a children's television series co-created and produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. During its original run, it was broadcast on the NBC television network....
.