Staring at the Tetons from anywhere in Jackson Hole, it’s not difficult to tell they are young mountains (notice how sharp and jagged they still are?) or that they erupted out of the ground in a cataclysmic event rather than some long-acting process (notice how there aren’t any foothills?).

Seeing the smaller geologic forces that helped form, and are still forming, them requires getting up close though. Head for Bradley, Taggart, Leigh, Phelps, or Jenny Lakes, all near the park’s southern entrance, and marvel that each was formed by a moving, long-ago-melted glacier. Those who want to see a glacier in action can hike seven miles up the south fork of Cascade Canyon to School-room Glacier, so named for its textbook characteristics. Another active glacier in the park, Teton Glacier, can be seen from numerous turnouts along the road in the southern part of the park.