Middle Teton Glacier

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Middle Teton Glacier
Middle Teton Glacier.jpg
Middle Teton Glacier
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Middle Teton Glacier
TypeMountain glacier
Coordinates 43°43′57″N110°48′16″W / 43.73250°N 110.80444°W / 43.73250; -110.80444 Coordinates: 43°43′57″N110°48′16″W / 43.73250°N 110.80444°W / 43.73250; -110.80444 [1]
TerminusMoraine
StatusRetreating

Middle Teton Glacier is on the northeast flank of Middle Teton in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. [2] The alpine glacier is a popular mountaineering route for ice climbing and for access to the summit of Middle Teton and other peaks to the south. The glacier is at the west end of Garnet Canyon, which is the most popular route used by climbers ascending Grand Teton. The glacier melt feeds streams below including Spalding Falls, an 80 ft (24 m) high cascade. Between 1967 and 2006, Middle Teton Glacier lost approximately 25 percent of its surface area, shrinking from 52 to 39 acres (21 to 16 ha). [3]

Middle Teton Glacier from the north Middle Teton Glacier looking southeast.jpg
Middle Teton Glacier from the north

See also

Related Research Articles

Grand Teton

Grand Teton is the highest mountain in Grand Teton National Park, in Northwest Wyoming, and a classic destination in American mountaineering.

Mount Moran Mountain in Wyoming, United States

Mount Moran is a mountain in Grand Teton National Park of western Wyoming, USA. The mountain is named for Thomas Moran, an American western frontier landscape artist. Mount Moran dominates the northern section of the Teton Range rising 6,000 feet (1,800 m) above Jackson Lake. Several active glaciers exist on the mountain with Skillet Glacier plainly visible on the monolithic east face. Like the Middle Teton in the same range, Mount Moran's face is marked by a distinctive basalt intrusion known as the Black Dike.

Schoolroom Glacier

Schoolroom Glacier is a small glacier in Grand Teton National Park in the U.S. state of Wyoming. This Teton Range glacier lies adjacent to the south Cascade Canyon trail at an altitude of 10,400 ft (3,200 m), approximately 12 mi (19 km) from the trailhead at Jenny Lake. The glacier has many of the classic textbook details of a glacier, namely, well defined terminal and lateral moraines, crevasses, a proglacial lake and related features which led to the naming schoolroom.

Jenny Lake Lake in Teton County, Wyoming, United States

Jenny Lake is located in Grand Teton National Park in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The lake was formed approximately 12,000 years ago by glaciers pushing rock debris which carved Cascade Canyon during the last glacial maximum, forming a terminal moraine which now impounds the lake. The lake is estimated to be 256 feet (78 m) deep and encompasses 1,191 acres (482 ha). Jenny Lake is considered to be a major focal point in Grand Teton National Park, with many hiking trails, scenic boat rides, and quick access to the major climbing routes onto the tallest peaks of the Teton Range.

Middle Teton

Middle Teton is the third highest peak in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. The peak is immediately southwest of Grand Teton and the two are separated from one another by the lower saddle, a broad high ridge at 11,600 feet (3,540 m). The Middle Teton Glacier is located on the eastern slopes of the peak. Middle Teton is a classic pyramidal shaped alpine peak and is sometimes included as part of the Cathedral Group of high Teton peaks. The 40-mile (64 km) long Teton Range is the youngest mountain chain in the Rocky Mountains, and began their uplift 9 million years ago, during the Miocene. Several periods of glaciation have carved Middle Teton and the other peaks of the range into their current shapes. From the lower saddle, a distinctive feature known as the black dike appears as a straight line running from near the top of the mountain down 800 feet (240 m). The black dike is a basaltic intrusion that occurred long after the surrounding rock was formed.

South Teton

South Teton is the fifth-highest peak in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The peak is south of Middle Teton and just west of Cloudveil Dome and is part of the Cathedral Group of high Teton peaks. The 40-mile-long (64 km) Teton Range is the youngest mountain chain in the Rocky Mountains, and began their uplift 9 million years ago, during the Miocene. Several periods of glaciation have carved South Teton and the other peaks of the range into their current shapes.

Signal Mountain (Wyoming)

Signal Mountain is an isolated summit standing 7,720 feet (2,350 m) above sea level. The mountain is located in Grand Teton National Park in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The next closest higher summit is more than 10 miles (16 km) distant, and this isolation provides sweeping views of the Teton Range, much of the northern Jackson Hole area as well as the Snake River. Though located adjacent to the Tetons, Signal Mountain was not formed in the same manner or period. The mountain originally was formed by volcanic ashfall from one of the eruptions of the Yellowstone hotspot. The peak is also partially a glacial moraine formed by a receding glacier that came south out of the Yellowstone icecap. This same glacier also created neighboring Jackson Lake.

Thor Peak (Wyoming)

Thor Peak is in the northern Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Mount Moran is 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east. The summit is the eighth-highest in the Teton Range. Several semi-permanent snowfields as well as the Triple Glaciers are located on the east and northern slopes of the mountain. While the easiest route up the mountain, the south slope, is only rated a class 4, the mountain's remoteness and difficulty of approach make it a challenging mountain to summit.

Symmetry Spire

Symmetry Spire is located in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The mountain, first climbed via the east ridge route on August 20, 1929 by Fritiof Fryxell and Phil Smith, towers above the northwest shore of Jenny Lake and Cascade Canyon. The scenic Lake of the Crags, a cirque lake or tarn, is located northwest of the summit and is accessed by way of Hanging Canyon. Popular with mountaineers, the spire has numerous challenging cliffs.

Teepe Pillar

Teepe Pillar is located in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, immediately south of Grand Teton. The peak is the seventh highest in the Teton Range. Teepe Pillar is separated from Grand Teton by a col which drops sharply to the east and west. Northeast of and well below the summit, the Teepe Glacier is situated in a cirque. From Jackson Hole, Teepe Pillar is difficult to observe except from the northeast as it is hidden from view by Disappointment Peak.

Cloudveil Dome

Cloudveil Dome is located in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, immediately southeast of Grand Teton. The peak is in the central portions of the range, immediately east of South Teton and is sometimes considered to be part of what is collectively known as the Cathedral Group. Cloudveil Dome rises to the south of Garnet Canyon. The peak has a variety of mountaineering routes but since it is near to more popular climbing zones, it is often overlooked.

Garnet Canyon

Garnet Canyon is located in Grand Teton National Park in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The canyon was formed by retreating glaciers which reached their last glacial maximum around 15,000 years ago. While Garnet Canyon is a less popular destination for recreational hikers than nearby Cascade Canyon or Death Canyon, it is an important approach to many significant and popular mountaineering climbs including routes found on Grand Teton, Middle Teton, South Teton and Disappointment Peak.

Static Peak

Static Peak is located in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Located .48 miles (0.77 km) southeast of Buck Mountain, the summit is also east of the Alaska Basin Trail, from a point known as Static Peak Divide, the summit can be climbed in a scramble. Below the summit on the north face, a small remnant glacier persists, sheltered from direct sunlight by steep cliffs. Timberline Lake lies to the north of the peak.

Teton Glacier

Teton Glacier is a mountain glacier located below the north face of Grand Teton in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, United States. Its neighbors are Mount Owen to the west and Teewinot Mountain to the north. Teton Glacier is the largest of the twelve named glaciers in the park. In 1971, the glacier was approximately 3,500 ft (1,100 m) long and 1,100 ft (340 m) wide. Between 1967 and 2006, Teton Glacier lost approximately 14 to 20 percent of its surface area, a reduction from 64 to 53 acres.

Teepe Glacier

Teepe Glacier is below the northeast face of Teepe Pillar in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, United States. The glacier is immediately southeast of Grand Teton in the heart of the Cathedral Group collection of high peaks in the Teton Range. Between 1967 and 2006, Teepe Glacier lost approximately 60 percent of its surface area, shrinking from 13 to 5 acres.

Skillet Glacier

Skillet Glacier is in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, United States. The glacier is situated on the eastern cliffs of Mount Moran and is easily seen from Jackson Hole. The shape of the glacier led to the naming as the uppermost section of the glacier is long and narrow and then broadens abruptly more than halfway down the mountain into a larger area, giving it the shape of a skillet or frying pan. The glacier is one of twelve that remain in Grand Teton National Park and one of five glaciers located on Mount Moran. Mountain climbers consider the Skillet Glacier route to be the fastest and one of the easiest ways to climb Mount Moran, and was the route taken when the peak was first climbed in 1922, though it is rarely used in late summer due to poor footing. On November 21, 1950, A DC-3 crashed into Mount Moran, adjacent to Skillet Glacier, killing all 21 passengers aboard. The remains of the passengers and the plane are still on the mountain.

Falling Ice Glacier

Falling Ice Glacier is located in the Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, United States. The glacier is situated on the southeastern cliffs of Mount Moran and can be seen from Jackson Hole. Runoff from the glacier flows into Leigh Lake. The glacier is located in a high altitude cirque and is along one of the major climbing routes to the summit of Mount Moran. All of the existing glaciers in Grand Teton National Park were created during the Little Ice Age (1350–1850 A.D.) and have been in a general state of retreat since the mid-19th century.

Triple Glaciers

Triple Glaciers are in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, United States. The glaciers are disconnected from each other and occupy three separate cirques on the northwest face of Mount Moran and northeast of Thor Peak. The glaciers are unofficially referred to as East, Middle and West Triple Glacier.

Petersen Glacier

Petersen Glacier is in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, United States. The glacier is in a cirque to the west and above north Cascade Canyon at an altitude of approximately 10,000 feet (3,000 m). The glacier is named after Frank Petersen, one of the first mountaineers to climb Grand Teton in 1898. Runoff from the glacier is heavy in rock flour which turns the waters of Mica Lake turquoise in appearance. The glacier is no longer visible in satellite imagery, indicating it may have disappeared. All of the existing glaciers in Grand Teton National Park were created during the Little Ice Age (1350-1850) and have been in a general state of retreat since the mid-19th century.

Sourdough Glacier

Sourdough Glacier is in the Wind River Range, Bridger-Teton National Forest in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Sourdough Glacier is in the Bridger Wilderness, and is part of the largest grouping of glaciers in the American Rocky Mountains. The glacier extends from the north slope of Klondike Peak at an elevation range of 12,800 to 11,800 ft and flows into a proglacial lake.

References

  1. "Middle Teton Glacier". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  2. Grand Teton, WY (Map). TopoQwest (United States Geological Survey Maps). Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  3. Edmunds, Jake; et al. (February 2012). "Glacier Variability (1967–2006) in the Teton Range, Wyoming, United States". Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 48 (1): 187–196. doi:10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00607.x.