What's so grand about the Tetons?

Just about everything. Wyoming's jagged Tetons are fault-block mountains, pushed up as the earth split along a north-south fault line. They're topped by some of the oldest rock in North America--up to three billion years old. Brash upstarts, the Tetons themselves are only 12 million years old, compared to the rest of the Rockies, which have been around for about 60 million years. The valley floor is at an elevation of about 6,000 feet, with the mountains soaring to over 13,000 feet.

If you speak French, you may be wondering about the name Grand Tetons. (If you don't, just close your eyes and think of Dolly Parton.) Lonesome males on Donald McKenzie’s 1811 expedition to the area--apparently inspired by the soaring peaks--are thought to be responsible for this controversial naming.

Our fieldwork will be in mixed cottonwood and conifer sites
throughout the valley, on both public and private lands, because birds don't respect park boundaries very well. Two sites are within Grand Teton National Park; the others are in forested areas near Jackson, Teton Village, and Wilson, WY.


The area is hemmed in on three sides by mountain ranges: the Teton Range to the west, the Snake River Range to the south, and the Gros Ventre Range to the east. Yellowstone National Park is considered the area's northern border.