The Cathedral Group is the group of the tallest mountains of the

Teton Range The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. It extends for approximately in a north–south direction through the U.S. state of Wyoming, east of the Idaho state line. It is south of Yellowstone National Park and ...

, all of which are located in

Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park is an American national park in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately , the park includes the major peaks of the Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Grand Teton ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...

. The Cathedral Group are classic alpine peaks, with pyramidal shapes caused by

glacial motion Glacial motion is the motion of glaciers, which can be likened to rivers of ice. It has played an important role in sculpting many landscapes. Most lakes in the world occupy basins scoured out by glaciers. Glacial motion can be fast (up to , ob ...

. The highest peak in the group is

Grand Teton Grand Teton is the highest mountain in Grand Teton National Park, in Northwest Wyoming, and a classic destination in American mountaineering. Geography Grand Teton, at , is the highest point of the Teton Range, and the second highest peak in ...

, which rises more than above

Jackson Hole Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre and Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, one of the richest counties in the Unit ...

valley, and is the second tallest mountain in Wyoming, after

Gannett Peak Gannett Peak is the highest mountain peak in the U.S. state of Wyoming at . It lies in the Wind River Range within the Bridger Wilderness of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Straddling the Continental Divide along the boundary between Fremo ...

. The Cathedral Group is separated by other tall peaks of the range by the

Cascade Canyon Cascade Canyon is located in Grand Teton National Park, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The canyon was formed by glaciers which retreated at the end of the last glacial maximum approximately 15,000 years ago. Today, Cascade Canyon has numerous ...

to the north and

Avalanche Canyon Avalanche Canyon is located in Grand Teton National Park, in the U. S. state of Wyoming. The canyon was formed by glaciers which retreated at the end of the last glacial maximum approximately 15,000 years ago, leaving behind a U-shaped valley. ...

to the south. Half the remaining dozen

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

s in the Teton Range are located in this cluster of high peaks, including the Teton Glacier which is the largest one in the range. Other glaciers such as the

Middle Teton Glacier Middle Teton Glacier is on the northeast flank of Middle Teton in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. The alpine glacier is a popular mountaineering route for ice climbing and for access to the summit of Middle Teton and other peaks to the sou ...

, Teepe Glacier, and Schoolroom Glacier are also located here. The Cathedral Group has several high

cirques A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...

arête An arête ( ) is a narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequ ...

s as well as

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

and

U-shaped valley U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight s ...

s which are all the work of glacial activity. At the base of the Cathedral Group, several

glacial lake A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10, ...

s can be found, including

Jenny Jenny may refer to: * Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people * Jenny (surname), a family name Animals * Jenny (donkey), a female donkey * Jenny (gorilla), the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time of h ...

Bradley Bradley is an English surname derived from a place name meaning "broad wood" or "broad meadow" in Old English. Like many English surnames Bradley can also be used as a given name and as such has become popular. It is also an Anglicisation of t ...

and

Taggart Lake Taggart Lake is located in Grand Teton National Park, in the U. S. state of Wyoming. The natural lake is located at the terminus of Avalanche Canyon. A number of hiking trails can be found near the lake including a roundtrip hike commencing fro ...

s, all of which were formed when the glaciers of the last ice age retreated, leaving behind terminal moraines which acted as natural dams. A few high altitude lakes can also be found scattered among the peaks.

Mountains of the Cathedral Group

In addition to Grand Teton, near the northern end of the group, other major peaks found here include Mount Owen,

Middle Teton Middle Teton () is the third-highest peak in the Teton Range, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Located within Grand Teton National Park, the peak is immediately southwest of Grand Teton, from which it is separated by a broad high ridge at , known to ...

South Teton South Teton () is the fifth-highest peak in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The peak is south of Middle Teton and just west of Cloudveil Dome and is part of the Cathedral Group of high Teton peaks. The ...

, Teewinot Mountain, Teepe Pillar,

Cloudveil Dome Cloudveil Dome () is located in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, immediately southeast of Grand Teton. The peak is in the central portions of the range, immediately east of South Teton and is sometimes considered to be part of ...

Nez Perce Peak Nez Perce Peak () is located in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, immediately southeast of Grand Teton. The peak is in the central portions of the range, immediately east of Cloudveil Dome and is sometimes considered to be par ...

and Buck Mountain, most of which are over above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...

and represent eight of the ten highest summits in the Teton Range. Some geographers only include Grand Teton, Mount Owen and Teewinot Mountain as being a part of the Cathedral Group proper; however, similarity of shapes and the isolation from other high peaks of the range by the deep Cascade and Death Canyons, generally place all the major peaks located between the two canyons within the group.

References

External links

* {{coord, 43.7236, N, 110.806, W, source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Mountains of Grand Teton National Park Mountains of Wyoming Mountains of Teton County, Wyoming de:Cathedral Group