Geological Survey Professional Paper 516—E A Geophysical Study in Grand Teton National Park and Vicinity, Teton County, Wyoming

The area covered in this report consists of 4,600 km² (square kilometers), in Teton County, Wyo. (fig. 1), between lat 43°15' to 44°08' N. and long 110°23' to 111°00' W., and includes Grand Teton National Park and parts of Teton National Forest. The Teton Range forms the west border of Jackson Hole, a downfaulted basin containing a thick section of sedimentary rock. The Gros Ventre Range trends into the area from the southeast. The Mount Leidy and Pinyon Peak highlands form the east and northeast borders of Jackson Hole.

FIGURE 1.—Index map of northwestern Wyoming and adjacent parts of Idaho and Montana showing area of this report (striped). Shaded area is Grand Teton National Park. (click on image for a PDF version)

Geologic work by Love (1956a) suggested a great thickness of Tertiary and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks in Jackson Hole. The Teton fault of post-middle Pliocene age generally has been considered to be a steeply dipping normal fault (Love, 1956b). Geophysical work was undertaken to obtain as much information as possible on the structural relationships and the subsurface geology of the region.

Present investigation and acknowledgments.—The text, except the sections by Love and Reed, was prepared by Behrendt. The 1964 seismic data were interpreted by Behrendt and Tibbetts. The original gravity survey was made in 1955 by Bonini and Lavin, of Princeton University; their work was partly supported by the National Science Foundation.

The seismic measurements were made with the assistance of L. C. Pakiser, R. E. Warrick, W. H. Jackson, G. I. Evenden, and D. B. Hoover, all members of the U.S. Geological Survey. We appreciate the support of the National Park Service personnel at Grand Teton National Park, particularly H. J. Estey, W. E. Dilley, R. A. Mebane, and G. F. Wagner.