Spread across 310,000 acres in northwestern Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park encompassSpread across 310,000 acres in northwestern Wyoming , Grand Teton National Park encompasses the peaks of the 40-mile Teton Range and most of the northern sections of the Jackson Hole valley . The Teton Range sits on a geologic fault line, and between 6 and 9 million years ago, earthquakes caused blocks of land on both sides of the fault to slip past each other. The west block rose upward to form the Tetons, while the east block dropped down to form the valley called Jackson Hole. Over time, glaciers covered the mountains and slowly crunched their way down the slopes, forming U-shaped canyons.On the valley floor, the Snake River (seen here at the superbly picturesque Oxbow Bend ) forms its own ecoregion of wetlands important to the varied wildlife that the park protects... See more See less
