Jackson Hole

 

fertile Rocky Mt. valley, c.50 mi (80 km) long and 6 to 8 mi (9.6–12.8 km) wide, NW Wyo., partly in Grand Teton National Park. Jackson Lake, 39 sq mi (101 sq km), a natural lake through which the Snake River flows, was dammed in 1916 to control the river's flow. Now a summer and winter resort area that attracts many tourists every year, the valley has been popular with hunters and trappers from the time American trapper David Jackson, for whom it was named, wintered there in 1828–29. In the late 1880s, Jackson Hole was settled; two homesteads have been restored as historic sites. The National Wildlife Art Museum is just N of the town of Jackson. The National Elk Refuge, est. 1948, is the winter home of the largest elk herd in North America. Many animals and birds inhabit the area, including the bald eagle and the rare trumpeter swan.

Jackson Hole is a valley in the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is located in west-central Wyoming, and gets the name "hole" from early trappers who primarily entered the valley from the north and east and had to descend down into the valley along relatively steep slopes, giving the sensation of entering a hole. The valley is named for David (Davey) Edward Jackson, a mountain man who trapped the area for beaver in the early nineteenth century. Though used by Native Americans for hunting and ceremonial purposes, the valley was not known to harbor year round human settlement prior to the 1870's. Descriptions of the valley and its features were recorded in the journals of John Colter, who had been a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. After returning to the Rocky Mountains, Colter entered the region in 1806 in the vicinity of Togwotee Pass and became the first caucasian American to see the valley. His reports of the valley, the Teton Range and of the Yellowstone region to the north were viewed by people of the day with skepticism.

The valley is formed by the Teton Range on the western side and the Gros Ventre range on the eastern side. Grand Teton National Park occupies the north-western part of the valley encompassing the much of the Teton Range as well as Jackson Lake. The town of Jackson, Wyoming, is at the southern end. The Snake River threads through the entire valley from its headwater in Yellowstone in the north to the mouth of the Snake River Canyon at the southern tip of the valley. Blacktail Butte is a prominent landform rising from the valley floor. The average altitude of the valley is over 6,500 feet.

High altitude and steep mountain slopes on all sides of the valley often causes calm winter nights to be very cold, as radiational cooling from snow-covered ground creates cold air near the surface, which then slides down into the valley due to its higher density. In 1993, this effect during an already severe cold snap plunged the morning low temperature down to -56°F or -53°C in the valley, officially recorded by the National Weather Service. The state record low temperature was also recorded in the valley at Moran at -66°F in 1933.

The only incorporated town in the valley is Jackson, sometimes also mistakenly called Jackson Hole itself. Other communities in the valley include Wilson, Teton Village, Moran Junction, Hoback, Moose (Moose Wilson Road, Wyoming), and Kelly. On the west side of the valley, Teton Pass crosses the Teton Range providing access to Victor and Driggs in eastern Idaho and Alta, Wyoming on the western side of the Tetons. Numerous elk use the valley as grazing range during the winter, and sleigh rides are offered to tourists. The Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Snow King and Grand Targhee Resort ski areas, and nearby Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks are major tourism attractions throughout all seasons of the year.

References

• Daugherty, John. A Place Called Jackson Hole. Grand Teton Natural History Association. Retrieved on 2006-10-06.
• The Mystery of the Colter Stone. Grand Teton National Park. Retrieved on 2006-10-06.

Coordinates: 43°31′N 110°50′W / 43.517, -110.833

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