Grand Teton National park is very recent mountain range on a
geological time scale. The geologic story
of the Teton Range began more than 2.7 billion years ago. About ten million years ago the mountain
range was created by massive earthquakes along the Teton fault. The earthquakes shifted the mountains upwards
about 7,000 feet and the valley downward. The fault runs about 40 miles along the base
between the mountains and the valley. So
far movement has measured some 30,000 vertical feet, most of it from the
subsidence of Jackson Hole. Grand Teton
National Park is very unique because it has many different types of rocks and
experiences all four seasons.
…Grand Tetons 10,000
years from now
From the 1850's to the present, we have been in an
interglacial period. An interglacial
period is a period of warmer global temperatures between periods of glaciation
where glaciers retreat and vegetation spreads. During the Little Ice Age, glaciers are retreating. The Teton Glacier has lost up to
40% of its surface area since the 1960's.
With that being said, I believe the glaciers will be melted in the next
10,000 years. The mountain range will
also grow. Mountains grow about 3.2 inches
per year. So, over the next 10,000 years
the mountains should grow at least 2,600 feet.
The rocks will become more jagged
because of weathering and erosion due to water.
 |
| Weathering of rocks at Grand Teton National Park |
…Grand Tetons 1,000,000
years from now
Looking back on the geological time scale of Grand Teton
National Park, between 500,000 and 2 million years ago ice sheets covered most
of the Northern Hemisphere. The mountains should grow about 260,000 feet
or 50.5 miles, which is very hard to imagine.
The mountains may not grow as much because of weathering to the
rocks.
…Grand Tetons 100,000,000
years from now
In 100,000,000 years from now the rocks will be extremely decayed. Frost wedging is common in Grand Teton
National Park and it occurs when water seeps into a crack in a rock, freezes,
expands and forces the crack open. Many
earthquakes should have happened in the last 100,000,000 years causing the
valley to fall down even more.
Overall I believe Grand Teton National Park will grow and
shrink at the same time due to faulting and weathering. With many earthquakes that will happen over the next 100,000,000 years, the mountains will shift upwards, but also the rocks will decay from weathering and harsh weather conditions that will happen.
References
http://www.discovergrandteton.org/teton-geology/
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