How Earthquakes, Oceans, and Glaciers Formed Jackson Hole's Iconic Terrain

Few ski areas are as visually iconic as Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Wyoming.

Situated at one end of the Teton range, Rendezvous Peak drops more than 4,000 feet to the valley’s floor, scaled in part by the Tram as it hangs above the mountain. The skiable terrain not just within the boundaries of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, but the surrounding Tetons, is every bit as jagged and technical as the range’s iconic silhouette.

If you’ve ever skied in the Tetons, perhaps you’ve wondered how all those chutes and couloirs came to be, and perhaps better yet, how a lift system as substantial as Jackson’s Tram was installed so long ago.

Jackson Holes new film, Layers of Time, walks viewers through a geologic history of the Tetons and sheds light on how one of the best ski areas in the US is also a wonder of the natural world. See below.

The Tetons are one of the youngest mountain ranges in North America at only around 10 million years old. In contrast, the Rocky Mountains were formed around 60 million years ago by a collision of tectonic plates. These same plates pulled apart 10 million years ago, creating the Teton Fault and Teton range. Subsequent glacial periods contributed to shaping of the range, helping to carve out some the Teton’s most stunning cirques and rocky points. Without as much time for erosion to work away at the range, it’s features remain more jagged and irregular than other, older, ranges.

You can watch the film below and keep reading for more.

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The bottom 2/3 of Jackson Hole Mountain resort is made of metamorphic and igneous rock, meaning rock formed by volcanic processes or rocks that have seen chemical and/or physical change due to intense pressure or heat. The top third of the mountain is made up of the Darby Formation, a layer of sedimentary and oceanic rock, which is formed by compaction of sediment and/or organic matter over time.

As a result, the bottom 2/3 of the mountain are smoother, harder, more consistent rock, whereas the top 1/3 is steeper and more chutes have formed. The Darby Formation has a strong bedrock, which allowed the resort to build Jackson Hole’s Tram. With the presence of that Teton fault that was formed with the range, the Tram’s engineers had to take into account geologic factors such as the potential for seismic activity.

Below the Darby Formation, sits the 460 million year old Bighorn Dolomite formation. Lines like Corbet’s Couloir and S&S Couloir are all made from this old and substantial rock, which is perhaps most representative of some of Jackson’s terrain. As you move down the mountain, you’ll find the Cambrian formation, a series of 500 million year old sedimentary layers made from ancient compacted ocean organisms like petrified strumatalytes. Although covered by snow, you’ll find this petrified strumatalyte layer on the way to the Expert Chutes. Below it, forming the Chutes, is a metamorphic layers called Death Canyon limestone, which is then stacked onto an easily erodible metamorphic Woosey Shale.

Much of the rest of Jackson Hole’s terrain and lifts like Teewinot and Après Vous, stand on a 3 billion year old Archean layer, formed largely by metamorphic Rendezvous gabbro, which is some of the oldest rock in North America.

Jackson Hole is getting ready to open for their 60th anniversary season, and while 60 years might not have much on the 10 million year old Teton range, it’s a milestone nonetheless.

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