Jackson Lake is in

Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park is an American national park in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately , the park includes the major peaks of the Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Grand Teton N ...

in northwestern Wyoming. This natural lake was enlarged by the construction of the

Jackson Lake Dam Jackson Lake Dam is a concrete and earth-fill dam in the western United States, at the outlet of Jackson Lake in northwestern Wyoming. The lake and dam are situated within Grand Teton National Park in Teton County. The Snake River emerges from ...

, which was originally built in 1911, enlarged in 1916 and rebuilt by 1989. As part of the Minidoka Project the top of the lake is used by farmers in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

for irrigation purposes under

water right Water right in water law refers to the right of a user to use water from a water source, e.g., a river, stream, pond or source of groundwater. In areas with plentiful water and few users, such systems are generally not complicated or contentious ...

s legislation that was enacted prior to the establishment of Grand Teton National Park. The lake is the remnant of large

glacial A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...

gouging from the neighboring

Teton Range The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. It extends for approximately in a north–south direction through the U.S. state of Wyoming, east of the Idaho state line. It is south of Yellowstone National Park an ...

to the west and the Yellowstone Plateau to the north. The lake is primarily fed by the Snake River, which flows in from the north, and empties at Jackson Lake Dam. Jackson Lake is one of the largest high altitude lakes in the United States, at an elevation of above sea level. The lake is up to long, wide and deep. The water of the lake averages below , even during the summer. Numerous species of fish inhabit the lake including nonnative

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

and

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...

and the native

Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout The Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout is a form of the cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii'') that is considered either as a separate subspecies ''O. c. behnkei'', or as a variety of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout (''O. c. bouvieri' ...

and

mountain whitefish The mountain whitefish (''Prosopium williamsoni'') is one of the most widely distributed salmonid fish of western North America. It is found from the Mackenzie River drainage in Northwest Territories, Canada south through western Canada and the ...

. There are over 15 islands in the lake, including the largest, Elk Island, and Donoho Point. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway is located near the northern end of Jackson Lake and extends to the south entrance of Yellowstone National Park. This roadway combines with the roads in Grand Teton National Park that follow the eastern side of the lake, and provides access for boating and fishing. There are several marinas and lodges along the eastern shore such as Leeks marina, Colter Bay Village,

Jackson Lake Lodge Jackson Lake Lodge is located near Moran in Grand Teton National Park, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The lodge has 385 rooms, a restaurant, conference rooms, and offers numerous recreational opportunities. The lodge is owned by the National Park ...

and

Signal Mountain Lodge Signal Mountain Lodge is a rustic style resort located within Grand Teton National Park on Jackson Lake. The resort started in the 1920s as a fishing camp operated by Ole Warner. The camp was purchased in 1931 by the Wort family of Jackson, Wyom ...

. All of these except Jackson Lake Lodge have boat access points and ramps. The western shore of Jackson Lake is primitive, with only hiking trails and a handful of primitive campground spots.

References

{{authority control Lakes of Wyoming Reservoirs in Wyoming Lakes of Grand Teton National Park Minidoka Project Reservoirs and dams in National Park Service units

See also

References