Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

The jagged 13,770 summit of Grand Teton rises above the pine-covered moraine of Signal Mountain at left while the massive bulk of 12,605 Mount Moran fills the scene at right in this photograph of Grand Teton National Park. Bright autumn Cottonwood trees reflect in the calm waters of Oxbow Bend along the Snake River. With its headwaters on the Yellowstone Plateau to the north, the Snake River pauses here with barely any current in this nearly-abandoned meander before it continues its long journey to its confluence with the Columbia River and finally to the Pacific Ocean west of Portland, Oregon. These calm waters serve as a major stopover for flocks of geese, ducks, cranes, white pelicans and other waterfowl as they fly south on their autumn migrations.