Comprehensive Guide Collection for Grand Teton National Park Mountain Landscapes

Dramatic alpine peaks rising above a pristine valley in northwestern Wyoming

Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park preserves a landscape of exceptional geological and ecological significance in northwestern Wyoming. The park encompasses the dramatic Teton Range, which began forming between 6 and 9 million years ago through fault-block mountain building, making it the youngest range in the Rocky Mountains. The range rises abruptly from the valley floor without any foothills, creating a striking visual boundary between Jackson Hole and the mountains beyond. Ten peaks in the range exceed 12,000 feet above sea level, with Grand Teton reaching 13,775 feet. The valley of Jackson Hole itself is a graben valley created by the Teton Fault, which has displaced the valley downward approximately 30,000 feet relative to the mountains. The park includes Jackson Lake, formed by glacial activity and enlarged by dam construction, as well as the Snake River which flows through the length of the valley. Glacial activity, particularly during the Pinedale glaciation that ended roughly 15,000 years ago, carved the characteristic U-shaped canyons visible today, including Cascade Canyon, Death Canyon, and others that provide access into the heart of the range. Though currently in recession, approximately a dozen glaciers persist at high elevations, including Teton Glacier below the northeast face of Grand Teton, which researchers have determined could disappear within 30 to 75 years due to changing climate conditions.