Cascade Canyon, Natural canyon in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, United States.
Cascade Canyon is a U-shaped glacial trough in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, between Grand Teton to the south and peaks over 11,000 feet to the north. Cascade Creek flows through it from Lake Solitude to Jenny Lake, and the canyon holds polished glacial erratics, hanging cirques and waterfalls such as the 100-foot Hidden Falls.
Cascade Canyon was carved by glaciers up to 600 m deep that retreated about 15,000 years ago at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, leaving a U-shaped trough. Glacial motion carried rock debris out of the gorge and built the moraines that now hold back Jenny Lake. In 1935 the Civilian Conservation Corps built the Cascade Canyon Barn, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
The Shoshone and other Native American tribes maintained strong connections to this land, utilizing the canyon's resources for generations.
From the Jenny Lake campground, a level 1.8-mile (2.9 km) hike along the Jenny Lake Trail or a scenic boat ride reaches the canyon's foot. The Cascade Canyon Trail then runs 4.5 miles (7.2 km) to the north-south junction; from there it is 2.8 miles (4.5 km) north to Lake Solitude or 5.1 miles (8.2 km) south to Hurricane Pass. A short side trail below Hurricane Pass leads to Schoolroom Glacier.
Cascade Canyon's glacial past is visible in its polished glacial erratics and hanging cirques, and in the moraines that now hold back Jenny Lake at the canyon's base. The canyon's U-shape shows ice once filled it to a depth of at least 2,000 feet (610 m).
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