We stopped at the location where we saw the bear yesterday as the rangers told us this is the best spot to see moose and bear. They certainly were correct!
We saw two females and one baby.
A male moose is called a bull, a female moose is called a cow, and a young moose is called a calf. A group of moose is called a herd. The plural form of moose is "moose”.
On the way back toward town, we stopped in this area again hoping to see something else. The rangers were keeping people off the hiking path as a bear decided to nap on the path. The rangers said the bear had his fill of berries and he wanted to rest. Well, I was able to photograph a bear and a moose on this trip so I'm not disappointed at all.
Baby kept going back in the woods
Baby seemed afraid to follow mom into the water.
Mom was happy eating.
Mom heard a noise so she stopped eating and looked around. It must not have been anything serious as she went back to eating.
We explored more of the park. If the smoke from the fires in California, Oregon and Washington hadn't drifted east, the scenery would have been spectacular. We need to come back and see Yellowstone as well as the Tetons next time.
Drove to Jackson Lake Dam. Jackson Lake Dam is a concrete and earth-fill dam at the outlet of Jackson Lake. The Snake River emerges from the dam and flows about eight hundred miles (1,300 km) through Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon and Washington to its mouth on the Columbia River in eastern Washington.
The chief purpose of the dam is to provide water storage for irrigation in the Snake River basin in the state of Idaho as part of the Minidoka Project. Jackson Lake is a natural lake, but its depth was increased by the dam to provide water storage.
"The first Jackson Lake Dam was a log-crib dam constructed in 1906–07 across the outlet of Jackson Lake, a natural lake. That dam raised the lake level by 22 feet (6.7 m), but the dam failed in 1910. A new concrete and earthen dam was constructed in stages between 1911 and 1916, raising the maximum lake level to thirty feet (9 m) above the lake's natural elevation, providing a storage capacity of 847,000 acre feet (1.045×109 m3). The new dam was designed by Frank A.Banks, who would later supervise the construction of Grand Coulee Dam.
The reservoir was created by damming the outlet of the natural glacial Jackson Lake, with the additional height creating a storage pool for the Minidoka Project, which provides irrigation water from the Snake River for farmlands in Idaho. Jackson Lake stores and releases water which is collected by Minidoka Dam and American falls Dam more than one hundred miles (160 km) downstream for diversion to distribution canals. At the time of the dam's construction, Jackson Hole and the Teton Range were as yet unprotected from development. Grand Teton National Park was established in 1929, and excluded Jackson Lake.
The lake was incorporated into Jackson Hole National Monument when it was proclaimed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt under the Antiquities Act, and became a part of Grand Teton National Park in 1950 when the park was expanded to encompass the national monument lands. When the dam was built there was no attempt to clear the shores of the lake of standing timber, resulting in an unsightly band of dead trees when the waters rose. This vista, and the mudflats created by draw-down of lake waters, were cited in later years in successful arguments against reservoirs in Yellowstone National Park.
Construction personnel for the dam were housed at a temporary camp that dwarfed the nearby town of Moran. Supplies came in from the Grassy Lake Road north of the park, which runs west into Idaho to meet the nearest rail head at Ashton, Idaho."
"The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation conducted studies on dams in 1976 and determined that Jackson Lake Dam was susceptible to failure in case of an earthquake of magnitude 5.5 or greater. Following the Borah Peak earthquake of 1983 in Idaho, the dam was upgraded during 1986–1989, and the Bureau of Reclamation believed it could withstand the "maximum credible earthquake," a magnitude 7.5 quake on the Teton fault. Since then various studies have cast doubt on this belief.
The dam is owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which maintains the water level above the lake's natural elevation for downstream irrigation.
Type: Concrete gravity dam with earthen embankment wings
Drainage area: 1,824 square miles (4,724 km2)
Lake elevation:
Normal full pool: 6,760 feet (2,060.4 m)
Maximum pool: 6,769 feet (2,063.2 m)
Minimum pool: 6,730 feet (2,051.3 m)
Maximum water surface: 6,770.3 feet (2,063.6 m)
Usable storage (6730–6760 ft): 847,000 acre feet (1.045×109 m3)
Crest elevation: 6,777 feet (2,065.6 m)
Crest length: 4,920 feet (1,499.6 m)
Crest width: 24 feet (7.3 m)
Base width: 72 feet (21.9 m)
Structural height: 65 feet (19.8 m)
Keeping it Warm is quite interesting - 50 degrees below zero? Yikes!!!
The gate was closed.
Four of the gates were raised 25%.
Pretty area to fish and hike.
I love to photograph moss hanging from trees.
Nice pathways to stroll along the lake.
Going around Jenny Lake
"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 moraine which now impounds the lake.
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris (regolith and rock) that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions on Earth (i.e. a past glacial maximum), through geomorphological processes. Moraines are formed from debris previously carried along by a glacier, and normally consist of somewhat rounded particles ranging in size from large boulders to minute glacial flour. Lateral moraines are formed at the side of the ice flow and terminal moraines at the foot, marking the maximum advance of the glacier.
The lake is estimated to be 256 feet (78 m) deep and encompasses 1,191 acres (482 ha). Jenny Lake is considered to be a major focal point in Grand Teton National Park, with many hiking trails, scenic boat rides, and quick access to the major climbing routes onto the tallest peaks of the Teton Range."
"Jenny and Jackson Lakes are the only lakes in Grand Teton National Park where motorboats are permitted; both lakes have scenic tours available. A 2005 study of the water quality of the lakes in Grand Teton National Park indicated that all the lakes in the park were still considered pristine and that they had not been impacted by air or water pollution.
Jenny Lake is a starting point for many day and overnight hiking trips. The 7.1-mile (11.4 km) Jenny Lake Trail loops around the lake and is considered to be relatively easy due to the small altitude gain of 700 feet (210 m). However, the altitude increases rapidly once Cascade Canyon is entered.
Jenny Lake is named after a Shoshone Indian woman who married an Englishman, Richard "Beaver Dick" Leigh. Jenny, and their 6 children, died of Smallpox in 1876."
There is always a new sign to read.
Some other sights.
Too much smoke today!
Trail riders
Another fun day comes to a close!
Comentarios