UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR RAY LYMAN WILBUR, SECRETARY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HORACE M. ALBRIGHT, DIRECTOR CIRCULAR OF GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK WYOMING © Cnm.lall THE WAY TO ENJOY THE MOUNTAINS THE GRAND TETON IN THE BACKGROUND Season from June 20 to September 19 © Cnimlall TRIPS BY PACK TRAIN ARE POPULAR IN THE SHADOWS OF THE MIGHTY TETONS © Crandall AN IDEAL CAMP GROUND Mount Moran in the background The Grand Teton National Park is not a part of the Yellow­ stone Park and, aside from distant views of the mountains, can not be seen on any Yellowstone tour, even from Moran or Jackson Lake. A side trip from Moran, involving an extra day, is necessary to see the " Cathedral " and " Matterhorn " aspects of the Grand Teton itself and the beautiful canyons, lakes, and forests of the new park. CONTENTS Page The national parks at a glance ni General description 1 Geographic features: The Teton Range 2 Origin of Teton Range 2 Jackson Hole _ 4 A meeting ground for glaciers 5 Moraines 7 Ontwaah plains 7 Lakes 7 Canyons 8 Peaks 8 How to reach the park: By automobile S By railroad 10 Administration 10 Camping , 10 Wilderness camping 12 Fishing 12 Wild animals 12 Hunting in the Jackson Hole 13 Ascents of the Grand Teton 14 Rules and regulations 15 Map , , 10 Literature: Government publications— Distributed free by the National Park Service 10 Sold by Superintendent of Documents 19 References , 20 Other national parks 23 National monuments 23 Authorized rates for public utilities, season of 1930 24 HtN'-44 1 x II CONTENTS! MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS COVER The way to enjoy the mountains—Grand Teton ill background Outside front. Trips by pack train are popular Inside front. An ideal camp ground, Mount Mo ran in background Inside front. Party from neighboring " dude ranch " Inside back. Elk wintering In the Jackson Hole Inside back. The magnificent Teton Range Back. Famous Mount Moran Back. TEXT Cross section of the mountains of the Yellowstone Grand Teton region 3 Map of the Grand Teton National Park G Map showing automobile routes comieetiug the western national parks 9 Map showing railroad routes connecting the western national parks 11 THE NATIONAL PARKS AT A GLANCE [Number. 21; :otal area, 12,118 square miles] Area in Name of park Location square Distinctive characteristics miles Maine coast... ... 16 The group of granite mountains upon Mount 1919 Desert Island and also hoid point on opposito mainland across Frenehmans Kay—Formerly called the Lafayette National Park. Brvec Canyon Southwestern Utah... 23 Box canyon fdled with countless array of fantas­ 1928 tically eroded pinnacles—-Best exhibit of vivid coloring of earth's materials. Crater Lake Southwestern Oregon. 219 Lake of extraordinary blue In crater of extinct 1902 volcano—Sides 1,000 feet 'nigh—Interesting lava formations—Fine fishing. General Grant Middle eastern Cali­ 4 Created to preserve the celebrated General Grant 1390 fornia. Tree, 40.3 feet in diameter—31 miles by trail from Sequoia National Park. Glacier - Northwestern Mon­ 1,534 Rugged mountain region of unsurpassed alpiuo 1910 tana. character—25!) glacier-fed lakes of romantic beauty—60 small glaciers—Precipices thou­ sands of feet deep—Almost sensational scenery of marked individuality—Fine trout fishing. Grand Canyon _ _ North central Arizona. 1,009 The greatest example of erosion and the most 1919 sublime spectacle in the world. Grand Teton - Northwestern Wyo­ lit Includes most spectacular portion of Teton 1929 ming. Mountains, an uplift of unusual grandeur. Hawaii Hawaii... 215 Interesting volcanic areas—Kilauea and Mauna 1910 Loa, active volcanoes on the island of Hawaii; Haleakala, a huge extinct volcano on the island of Maui. Hot Springs Middle Arkansas IH 10 hot springs said to possess healing properties— 1921 Many hotels and boarding houses—19 bath­ houses under Government supervision. Re­ served by Congress in 1S32 as the Hot Springs Reservation to prevent exploitation of hot waters. Lassen Volcanic Northern California... 103 Only active volcano in United States proper— 1910 Lassen Peak, 10,453 feet—Cinder Cone, 6,913 feet—Hot springs—Mud geysers. Mesa Verde.. Southwestern Colo­ 80 Most notable and best preserved prehistoric 1900 rado. cliff dwellings in United States, if not in the world. Mount McKinley.. South central Alaska.. 2,615 Highest mountain in North America—Rises 1917 higher above surrounding country than any other mountain in the world. Mount Rainier West central Wash­ o-. Largest accessible single peak glacier system; 1899 ington. 28 glaciers, some of large size; 48 square miles of glacier, 50 to 500 feet thick—Wonderful sub- alpine wild-ilower fields. Piatt Southern Oklahoma... Hi Sulphur and other springs possessing medicinal 1902 value. Rocky Mountain... North middle Colo­ 378 Heart of the Rockies—Snowy range, peaks 11,000 1910 rado. to 14,255 feet altitude—Remarkable records of glacial period. Sequoia Middle eastern Cali­ 601 Tile Big Tree National Park—Scores of sequoias fornia. 20 to 30 feet in diameter, thousands over 10 feet 1890 in diameter, General Sherman Tree, 37.3 feet in diameter and 273.9 feet high—Towering mountain ranges—Startling precipices—Mount Whitney and Kern River country. SullysHill North Dakota... _ Hi Small park with woods, streams, and a lake—Is 1904 a wild-animal preserve. Wind Cave.. South Dakota 17 Cavern having several miles of galleries and 1903 numerous chambers containing peculiar for­ mations. Yellowstone Northwestern Wyo­ 3, 426 More geysers than in all rest of world together- 1872 ming, southwestern Boiling springs—Mud volcanoes—Petrified Mont ana, and north­ forests—Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, eastern Idaho. remarkable for gorgeous coloring—Largo lakes- Many large streams and waterfalls—Vast wilderness, one of the greatest wild bird and animal preserves in tiie world—Exceptional trout fishing. Yosemite _ Middle eastern Cali­ 1,120 Valley of world-famed beauty—Lofty cliffs—Ro­ 1890 fornia. mantic vistas—Many waterfalls of extraor­ dinary height—3 groves of Big Trees—High Sierra—Waterwheel Imlls—Good trout tisiiing. Zion Southwestern Utah... 120 Magnificent gorge (Zion Canyon), depth from 1919 1,501) to 2,500 feet, Willi precipitous walls—Of great beauty and scenic interest. The National Parks Portfolio (FIFTH EDITION) A presentation of the national Bound securely * *• parks and national monu­ in cloth ments in picture. The selection is One dollar from the best work of many photog­ raphers, professional and amateur. It contains nine chapters each de­ scriptive of a national park, and one larger chapter devoted to other parks and monuments. 270 pages, including 310 illustrations. ((Sent postpaid, upon receipt of price in cash or money order, by the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. IV GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK The Grand Teton National Park was established by act of Congress approved by President Coolidge on February 26, 1929. It embraces the most spectacular part of the Teton Mountains of Wyoming, with an area of approximately 150 square miles, or 96,000 acres. It varies from 3 to 9 miles in width and is 27 miles in length. The north line of the park is about 11 miles south of the southern boundary of Yellowstone National Park. In addition to the sublime mountains of the Teton Range, the Grand Teton Park contains live large lakes and many smaller bodies of water, extensive forests of pine, fir, and spruce, and groves of cottonwood and aspen, as well as glaciers and snow fields. Much of its area is above timber line, the Tetons rising from 3,000 to 7,000 feet above the floor of the Jackson Hole, which they border on the west. The range is predominatingly gneiss, as contrasted with the volcanic mountains of the Yellowstone. The Grand Teton Mountain group, scenic climax of the park, is one of the noblest in the world, and one of the few that can be described accurately as cathedral-like. Its great central spire is formed by the summit of the Grand Teton itself. On approaching this mountain group from the north, the visitor beholds a vast cathedral, built of granite and shaped by glaciers, of which the remnants are still at work. From the east and south it strikingly resembles the Matterhorn of the Alps. The thrilling history of the ascents of this peak is sketched elsewhere. Mount Owen is a sister pinnacle of the Grand Teton, and was named in honor of W. O. Owen, the Wyoming pioneer whose party made the first fully proved ascent of the Grand Teton. Mount Moran is the monolith rising above Jackson and Leigh Lakes in the northern part of the park, and has an elevation of 12,100 feet. In the order of height the greatest peaks are Grand Teton, 13,747 feet elevation; Mount Owen, 12,910 feet; and Middle Teton, 12,769 feet. The lakes—Leigh, Jenny, Bradley, Taggart, and Phelps—are exquisitely beautiful as they nestle in the forests at the foot of the Tetons and mirror the towering summits in their quiet waters. Only Jenny and Leigh Lakes are accessible by automobile. String is the little lake connecting these two, the largest lakes of the park. 1 2 (JBAND TETON" NATIONAL PABK GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF THE GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK1 THE TETON RANGE On the Jackson Hole side the Teton Range presents one of the most precipitous mountain fronts on the continent—indeed, in the world. Except at Teton Pass, near its southern end, the range is practically an insuperable barrier. Forty miles in length, the range springs abruptly from Jackson Hole and only a few miles west of its base attains elevations of from 9,000 to nearly 14,000 feet above the sea.