Cascade Canyon is located in

Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park is a national park of the United States 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. G ...

, 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 so ...

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. The canyon was formed by

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

s which retreated at the end of the

last glacial maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Last Glacial Coldest Period, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period where ice sheets were at their greatest extent between 26,000 and 20,000 years ago. Ice sheets covered m ...

approximately 15,000 years ago. Today, Cascade Canyon has numerous polished

glacial erratics A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock (geology), rock differing from the type of country rock (geology), rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by gla ...

, hanging

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

s and a

U-shape Many shapes have metaphorical names, i.e., their names are metaphors: these shapes are named after a most common object that has it. For example, "U-shape" is a shape that resembles the letter U, a bell-shaped curve has the shape of the vertical ...

as evidences that demonstrate that glaciers once filled the canyon to a depth of at least . Rock debris that was transported out of the canyon 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 ...

formed

moraines A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris ( regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice sh ...

which now impound the waters of

Jenny Lake Jenny Lake is located in Grand Teton National Park in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The lake was formed approximately 12,000 years ago by glaciers pushing rock debris which carved Cascade Canyon during the last glacial maximum, forming a terminal m ...

which is located at the base of the canyon. Cascade Creek now flows where the glaciers once did and the numerous

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

s, such as the tall Hidden Falls, found within the gorge are popular destinations with tourists. The canyon is immediately west of Jenny Lake. The Cascade Canyon Trail follows the length of the canyon and is one of the most heavily used

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

trails in the park. The canyon can be reached from the Jenny Lake campground after a level hike of along the

Jenny Lake Trail The Jenny Lake Trail is a long hiking trail which circles Jenny Lake located in Grand Teton National Park in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The trail begins at the Jenny Lake campground or can be accessed at several other trailheads. One of the most ...

, or by way of a scenic boat ride from the campground to the west shore of Jenny Lake. At the foot of the canyon it is to the junction of the north and south Cascade Canyon trails. From there, hikers have the option of heading north along the Lake Solitude Trail to Lake Solitude (another or south via the South Fork Cascade Canyon Trail to

Hurricane Pass Hurricane Pass is a pedestrian mountain pass located in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Situated at approximately above sea level, the pass can be accessed from the south by way of the Teton Crest Trail or ...

(. From Lake Solitude there are sweeping views of the

Cathedral Group The Cathedral Group is the group of the tallest mountains of the Teton Range, all of which are located in Grand Teton National Park in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Cathedral Group are classic alpine peaks, with pyramidal shapes caused by gla ...

and

Grand Teton Grand Teton is the highest mountain of the Teton Range in Grand Teton National Park at in Northwest Wyoming. Below its north face is Teton Glacier. The mountain is a classic destination in American mountaineering via the Owen-Spalding rout ...

. Just below Hurricane Pass, a small glacier known as Schoolroom Glacier can be reached via a short side trail. The canyon is situated between Grand Teton which is high to the south and several peaks over to the north. Steep cliffs descending from these peaks ensure that the high points to the north and south are not visible until one hikes considerable distance into the canyon. Five miles (8 km) west of Jenny Lake the Cascade Canyon Barn is preserved. Built in 1935 by members of the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

, the barn was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1998.

References

{{reflist Canyons and gorges of Grand Teton National Park

See also

References