21 June 2012
Plane views: “Is that the Tetons?”
Posted by Callan Bentley
Another batch of out-the-airplane window photos from March, on my flight from Reno, NV, to Minneapolis, MN.
I looked out the window and saw a form that seemed familiar….
A slightly higher-contrast exposure: I was focused on that asymmetric mountain range in the distance.
Is that the Tetons? And Jackson Hole to their east? I think it is!
Zooming completely in with the pixelated “digital zoom” on the camera…
Sure enough. That’s the Grand in the middle, and one of those valleys just north of it is Cascade Canyon, where I hiked last summer, and north of that is Hanging Canyon, where I’ve hiked the previous couple of summers.
Which means the snow-covered valley in the foreground in the place where Pinedale, WY, is located, and the lovely glacial-moraine dammed lakes like Fremont Lake (the type locality for the Pinedale Glaciation, the most recent major Rocky Mountain glacial episode). You can see the lateral moraines pointing southwest (to the lower left) out of the Wind River Range to the right (east):
The Wind Rivers’ amazing glaciated peaks:
E P I C .
Position established, I was now oriented and able to recognize the other Wyoming landmarks that showed up in the next ten minutes…
Callan Bentley is Associate Professor of Geology at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. For his work on this blog, the National Association of Geoscience Teachers recognized him with the James Shea Award. He has also won the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council on Higher Education in Virginia, and the Biggs Award for Excellence in Geoscience Teaching from the Geoscience Education Division of the Geological Society of America. In previous years, Callan served as a contributing editor at EARTH magazine, President of the Geological Society of Washington and President the Geo2YC division of NAGT.
cool! thanks for sharing. you travel like I do (and hopefully all of us geologists) – head pressed against the window. I always have my headphones on, so the flight attendant has to tap me on the shoulder to ask me for my order.
Epic indeed! I’ve had the pleasure of passing over the Grand Canyon, but otherwise it always seems to be dark or cloudy when I we get to the good stuff. I think I’m going to start booking tickets based on flight path from now on. Thanks for sharing!