Mountains & Men Part 1: Mount Moran

Although slightly less famous than it’s taller brother, the Grand Teton, Mount Moran is often cited as people’s favorite mountain of the Teton Range.

 

 

 

The large, solitary mass of granite is recognizable by two features. The mountain is bisected by a vertical, black seam of basalt rock, called a basaltic dike – volcanic magma that seeped through a weak crack before the mountains were exposed. To the right of this black stripe is Skillet Glacier, named for its shape – a long skinny handle reaching up to the peak, and a wide, somewhat circular “pan” beneath.

 

Mount Moran is named after a famous American landscape artist, Thomas Moran, who joined the Hayden Expedition in 1871. One of his paintings of Mount Moran is actually hanging in the Oval Office!