The American West Part 4: The Snake River and Grand Teton National Park

The Snake is the largest and longest tributary of the Columbia River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean. It starts out as a small river in the Yellowstone NP flowing west and south for some 50 miles into Jackson Lake and then through the valley of Jackson Hole, which cuts between the Teton Range and the Continental Divide. In these first 100 miles it meanders through mountain meadows, and forests of fir, spruce and aspen, with the Tetons as a spectacular backdrop.
















Early in the morning, shortly after dawn we took a float trip down the river in the Jackson Hole country. Although we started off in silent, foggy conditions, the only sound being the 'plop' of the oars dipping into the water.....

the mist began to lift .......

and we started to appreciate the wonder of our surroundings in bright early morning sunlight. We floated downstream for about 13 miles or so spotting beaver dams and bald eagles.

With no foothills to obstruct your view, the jagged peaks and deep canyons of the Teton Range rise abruptly from the Jackson Hole valley.

Some 100 million years ago the collision of tectonic plates along North America's west coast bowed-up a vast block of the earth's crust. Eventually the dome was fractured along a line known as the Teton fault. Massive earthquakes caused the mountains to rise while the valley floor in the foreground, dropped. More recently huge glaciers flowed south from Yellowstone eroding the mountains and transporting and depositing vast volumes of rocky glacial debris. Towards the left shrouded in cloud is Grand Teton, 13,770 ft and in the centre is Teewinot Mountain, 12,325 ft.

















Here at Jenny Lake facing us is the mountain valley of Cascade Canyon. It was once occupied by a glacier which flowed into the foreground leaving a semi-circular wall of moraine on which I'm standing. Behind this the meltwater lake was impounded. High to the right is Hanging Canyon and on the left, Teewinot Mountain.

Perhaps one of the most beautiful and photogenic spots in Grand Teton National Park is Oxbow Bend, a loop of the Snake River that was left behind, when the river cut a new path through the neck of a huge meander, just slightly to the south.

Above we are looking west, back towards the Tetons. Below we look east towards Uhi Hill 7,443 ft..