Teton range peak names

The park newspaper said this about the origins of the names of the peaks:

"Static Peak In the Teton Range north of Death Canyon. Named because it is often hit by lightning.

Buck Mountain Named for George A. Buck, recorder for T.M. Bannon’s 1898 mapping party. Bannon gave the name "Buck Station" to the triangulation station he and George Buck established on the summit in 1898.

Grand Teton Highest mountain in the Teton Range. Named by French trappers. Upon viewing the Teton Range from the west, the trappers dubbed the South, Middle, and Grand, Les Trois Tetons, meaning ”the three breasts.” Wilson Price Hunt called them ”Pilot Knobs” in 1811 because he had used them for orientation while crossing Union Pass. In his Journal of a Trapper, Osborne Russel said that the Shoshone Indians named the peaks ”Hoary Headed Fathers.”

Mount Owen Northeast of the Grand Teton. Named for W.O. Owen, who climbed the Grand Teton in 1898 with Bishop Spalding, John Shive, and Frank Petersen.

Teewinot Towers above Cascade Canyon and Jenny Lake. Its name comes from the Shoshone word meaning ”many pinnacles.” Teewinot probably once applied to the entire Teton Range, rather than just this one peak. Fritiof Fryxell and Phil Smith named the peak when they successfully completed the first ascent of the mountain in 1929.

Mount Saint John Between Cascade and Paintbrush canyons. A series of peaks of nearly equal height. Named for Orestes St. John, geologist of Hayden’s 1877 survey, whose monographs of the Teton and Wind River ranges are now classics.

Mount Moran Most prominent peak in the northern end of the Teton Range. Named by Ferdinand V. Hayden for the landscape artist Thomas Moran, who traveled with the 1872 Hayden expedition into Yellowstone and into Pierre’s Hole on the western side of the Teton Range. He produced many sketches and watercolors from these travels.

From the book Origins by Hayden and Nielsen."

These descriptions leave out some of the peaks of the range. Here is a fuller, but still incomplete, list:

Rendezvous Peak 10,450, a second source says 10,924

Mount Hunt 10,783, a second source says 10,775

Static Peak 11,303

Buck Mountain 11,938, a second source says 11,923

Mount Wister 11,490, (a second source says 11,480) is behind Buck Mountain,

South Teton, 12,514, (a second source says 12,505) is best seen from the Idaho side of the range

Nez Perce, 11,901

Middle Teton, 12,804

Grand Teton, 13,770 (a second source says 13,766)

Mount Owen 12,928

Teewinot 12,325

Mount Saint John 11,430

Rockchuck Peak 11,444

Mount Woodring 11,590

Thor Peak 12,028 (a second source says 12,018)

Mount Moran 12,605 (a second source says 12,594)

Bivouac Peak 10,825

Eagles Rest 11,258

Doane Peak 11,354

In this NASA photo from space the biggest lake in the upper half is Yellowstone Lake and the long one further south is Jackson Lake, with the teton range showing as a white strip to the left of it.

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To print yourself a copy of three profile drawings

of the Teton Range with the names of peaks seen from these three views:

1) Highway 89, one mile south of Moose Junction

2) Teton Point turnout on Highway 89

3) from Jackson lake Lodge

go to:

http://www.nps.gov/grte/parkmgmt/guideres.htm

and click on Teton profile

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See also: Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park photos

Grand Tetons trip pages index has brief descriptions of most of the pages about the De Anza College trip.

Check out the spectacular 360 degree view from the summit of the Middle Teton:

http://www.virtualjacksonhole.com/SceneViewer.aspx?VRLN=middle_teton_summit

or from the summit of the Grand Teton:

http://www.virtualjacksonhole.com/SceneViewer.aspx?VRLN=the_grand_teton_summit

See also: NASA aerial photo of Teton Range

photo above © E J Peiker http://www.ejphoto.com/grand_teton_page.htm used with permission