Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park

The park includes the major peaks of the 40-mile-long Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. At 13,775 feet, Grand Teton abruptly rises more than 7,000 feet above Jackson Hole, almost 850 feet higher than Mount Owen. Noted for world-renowned trout fishing, the park is one of the few places to catch Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout.

About Grand Teton National Park in brief

Summary Grand Teton National ParkGrand Teton National Park is an American national park in northwestern Wyoming. The park includes the major peaks of the 40-mile-long Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. At 13,775 feet, Grand Teton abruptly rises more than 7,000 feet above Jackson Hole, almost 850 feet higher than Mount Owen. Some of the rocks in the park are the oldest found in any U.S. national park and have been dated at nearly 2.7 billion years. Noted for world-renowned trout fishing, the park is one of the few places to catch Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout. More than 1,000 species of vascular plants, dozens of species of mammals, 300 species of birds, more than a dozen fish species and a few species of reptiles and amphibians inhabit the park. Due to various changes in the ecosystem, some of them human-induced, efforts have been made to provide enhanced protection to some species of native fish and the increasingly threatened whitebark pine. It is only 10 miles south of Yellowstone National Park, to which it is connected by the National Park Service-managed John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway. The first nomadic hunter-gatherer Paleo-Indians began migrating into the region during warmer months pursuing food and supplies. Paleo-Indian presence in what is now Grand Terson National Park dates back more than 11,000 years, when the first humans-gatherers in Jackson Hole and Jackson Lake were spending summer months in the wintering valleys.

One of the obsidian tools found is of a type associated with the Clovis culture and is thought to date back at least 11,500 years. The naming of the mountains is attributed to early 19th-century French-speaking trappers—les trois tétons, which was later anglicized and shortened to Tetons. In the late 19th century, the first white explorers encountered the eastern Shoshone natives. The region attracted fur trading companies that vied for control of the lucrative beaver pelt trade between 1810 and 1840. The same species of flora and fauna that have existed since prehistoric times can still be found there. Though in a state of recession, a dozen small glaciers persist at the higher elevations near the highest peaks in the range. It’s a popular destination for mountaineering, hiking, fishing and other forms of recreation. There are more than 1,.000 drive-in campsites and over 200 miles of hiking trails that provide access to backcountry camping areas. It has numerous lakes, including 15- miles-long Jackson Lake aswell as streams of varying length and the upper main stem of the Snake River. It also has privately operated concessions for motels, lodges, gas stations and marinas. It was also available from a time when a virtually all available north of Jackson Hole was not available.