When viewing from the east, the Grand Teton Range has no foothills to obstruct the view, thus the jagged peaks and deep canyons of the Teton Range rise abruptly from the Jackson Hole valley. This range has some of the oldest rocks found in North America but these mountains rank among the youngest in the world.

After the collision of tectonic plates along the west coast of North America bowed up a vast block of sedimentary rock which had been deposited by an ancient sea covering the central continental plains, movement on the Teton fault generated massive earthquakes causing the mountains to rise while the valley floor dropped. This vertical displacement between what once was a level plain, now reaches about thirty thousand feet. If this is true, why does the Grand Teton only reach 13,770 feet in elevation.

The answer lies in what millions of years of erosion has done to the mountain side of the level plain. As the mountain was pushed higher and higher, the erosion of rain, wind and even massive glaciers wore off the surface of the mountain, which now in the form of rocks, gravel and dirt washed down into the now lower valley floor and there it settled.

Today, the Teton range has several habitat areas beginning with the Alpine tops of the mountains, then the Forested slopes. Below the slopes is the Sagebrush flats, then the Wet Meadows and finally the Lakes and Ponds.

Located in northwestern Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park is 10 miles south of Yellowstone National Park, both of which are connected by the John D. Rockerfeller Jr. Memorial Parkway, all three of which are managed by the National Parks Service.

the park encompasses about 310,000 acres and which includes all the major peaks of the 40 mile long Teton Mountain range as well as most of the northern section of the valley known s Jackson Hole.

It is not until about ten this morning when I arrive at the highway and begin a very familiar route through northwest Wyoming. My first stop is at the Warren Bridge over the Green River where I stop and take photos of the two osprey in the nest atop the bridge. Then, I pull into the Warren Bridge campground to prepare my lunch, take a few more photos and finally continue north on US 191.

The highway then climbs up into Bridger-Teton National Forest over the summit near the Rim Station, which I normally stop at but do not do so today. Continuing north, US 191 follows the Hoback river downstream all the way to the Snake river at Hoback Junction.

I only stop along the roadway to take a couple of photos of the snake because I want to stop at the Grassy Lake Road campground to see if there is a site available.

Here at the Oxbow of the Snake River, the Teton mountains stand tall in this last photo, with Mount Moran on the right and Grand Teton on the left.