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Robert Jones | all galleries >> US West - South West >> 2006 >> Grand Teton and Yellowstone > Grand Tetons, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
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Grand Tetons, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, U.S. Grand Teton National Park consists of approximately 310,000 acres (130,000 ha) and includes the major peaks of the 40-mile (64 km) long Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Only 10 miles (16 km) south of Yellowstone National Park, the two parks are connected by the National Park Service managed John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway. These three protected areas in conjunction with surrounding National Forests constitute the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which at almost 18,000,000 acres (7,300,000 ha), is one of the largest intact mid-latitude temperate ecosystems in the world.

Organized U.S. Government explorations to the region commenced in the 1870s as an offshoot of exploration in Yellowstone. The first permanent settlers in Jackson Hole arrived in the 1880s. Efforts to preserve the region as an national park commenced in the late 19th century and by 1929, Grand Teton National Park was established, protecting the major peaks of the Teton Range. The valley of Jackson Hole remained in private ownership until conservationists led by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in the 1930s began purchasing land in Jackson Hole to be added to the existing national park. Against public opinion and with repeated congressional efforts to repeal it, much of Jackson Hole was also set aside for protection as Jackson Hole National Monument in 1943. In 1950 the monument was abolished and most of the monument acreage was added to Grand Teton National Park.

Grand Teton National Park is named for Grand Teton which is the tallest mountain in the Teton Range. At 13,775 feet (4,199 m), Grand Teton rises abruptly more than 7,000 feet (2,100 m) above Jackson Hole and is almost 850 feet (260 m) higher than Mount Owen, the second highest summit in the range.


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